The China Mail - It's coming home: Bayeux tapestry arrives in London in overnight operation

The hushed-up, nighttime operation was the result of years of negotiations, tricky logistical planning and multiple technical studies to ensure the integrity of the medieval artwork.

Fears for the safety of the lace-like delicate tapestry, which has been insured by the British government for an eye-watering £800 million (over $1 billion), meant that the date and details of the transfer were kept under wraps until the last moment.

It is believed to be the first time the 68-metre (224-foot) embroidered tapestry has left France in more than 900 years, and the first time it has been moved in over 40 years.

But after two test trips with a full-sized reproduction of the tapestry, the operation appeared a well-oiled machine.

"It's been a huge amount of work for my colleagues here at the museum and in France. So, I think we'll all be very relieved to see it arrive safely," project curator Millie Horton-Insch told AFP as she awaited the tapestry.

The artwork, which chronicles scenes from the 1066 Battle of Hastings and the start of the Norman Conquest of England, was held in a shock-proof and temperature controlled case to protect the delicate embroidery.

The truck carrying the tapestry left its home in northern France on Thursday night, arriving at the British Museum just before 3:00 am (0200 GMT).

As it backed into a gate at the rear of the empty museum, the truck was greeted by a handful of staff and a small media contingent including AFP journalists.

"I've never been so excited to see a gate open," someone said, as others filmed the truck opening up to reveal the metal container.

- 'Unique' -

British Museum director Nicholas Cullinan and French ambassador to the UK Helene Duchene posed for photos, as those travelling in the convoy shook hands with museum staff wearing hi-vis vests.

"It's a unique moment," Cullinan told AFP after the tapestry arrived.

As the hulking metal cage, weighing more than a tonne, was lowered from the truck and wheeled into the museum, the gathering burst into applause.

The tapestry is now expected to remain in its case for a "few days" to acclimitise and "rest after its long journey", explained Horton-Insch.

"After which it will be unpacked, mounted, a full condition check will take place and then it will be put within its showcase," in time for the exhibition to open on September 10, said the curator.

The exhibition, which will run until July 2027, has generated record-breaking enthusiasm, with the museum selling out 100,000 tickets for the first four months of the show.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who promised the tapestry in a loan one year ago, hailed what France and Britain "can achieve when they join forces", in an article in The Times newspaper.

While its exact origins are shrouded in mystery, the tapestry depicting the start of the invasion by William the Conqueror's Norman army is widely thought to have been made in England before being transferred to Bayeux.

"This is really about bringing two countries with this incredible showcase together to collaborate," Cullinan said, acknowledging the role of the tapestry as a "supreme work of art within French culture".

"In some ways, you could say it feels like it's come home. But then it will be going truly home next year, when it returns back to Bayeux."

W.Tam--ThChM