Full description: the British Museum was quick to climbdown and arrange audio guides for the Bayeux Tapestry after a legal threat made by a Croydon accessibility activist
Croydon accessibility activist Yusuf Osman has won a battle with the British Museum to have audio description tours provided for blind people visiting the Bayeux Tapestry.
The tapestry, which depicts the events leading to the Battle of Hastings in 1066 and the Norman Conquest of Anglo-Saxon England, has not been on display in this country for nearly 1,000 years. Demand for tickets has been huge since the 230-foot-long piece of embroidery went on display last month, during a loan from the French government.
But there have been significant issues with queuing and waiting times for the museum’s display, and today audio description has been made available for the first time.
This may be in response to the threat of legal action brought by Dr Osman, who works as an adviser on disability accessibility to a range of public organisations. Dr Osman is registered blind. He is a frequent guest on Inside Croydon’s monthly news podcast, the Croydon Insider.
Accessibility activist: Dr Yusuf Osman
Law firm Leigh Day issued a legal challenge last week on behalf of Dr Osman, after the British Museum refused to provide audio-described tours for the Bayeux Tapestry exhibition.
Audio-described tours differ from audio tours in that they provide a detailed description of the objects in the exhibition, as well as the historic information which might be included in an audio tour which might be used by al visitors.
Dr Osman said that the British Museum has failed to comply with its duty to make reasonable adjustments under the 2010 Equality Act.
Dr Osman contacted the museum on this matter in July. The museum confirmed that audio-described tours would not form part of its programme, explaining that restrictions on the number of hours of light exposure permitted on the tapestry each week limit the number of visitors who can enter the gallery. Then, the museum claimed that it was prioritising self-guided visits.
“I want to be able to visit the Bayeux Tapestry and experience it for myself,” Dr Osman said.
“I understand that there are important restrictions around how the tapestry is displayed, but it was disappointing to find that blind visitors are not being offered an audio described way of experiencing it.”
Kate Egerton, the human rights and discrimination solicitor at Leigh Day who is representing Dr Osman, said: “The Bayeux Tapestry is an extraordinary cultural object, and everyone should have the opportunity to experience and engage with it. For blind and partially sighted visitors, audio descriptions can provide access to the visual information that sighted visitors are able to take in directly.
“The Equality Act places obligations on service providers to anticipate the needs of disabled people and take reasonable steps to avoid substantial disadvantage.”
The British Museum has yet to respond directly to Dr Osman’s solicitors, and it has given no date for when it will be introducing the audio-described tours. Despite its claims of a limit of light exposure for the tapestry, the Museum has today announced it is to extend its opening hours to meet public demand to visit the exhibit.
The British Museum has until October 15 to respond formally to the legal challenge.
A spokesperson for the museum said the institution was committed to making the exhibition as accessible as possible and had worked with specialist access consultants. They will now be providing dedicated tours that will include an in-person audio-described session.
The museum is also considering a separate audio-described guide within its exhibition app.
The Bayeux Tapestry exhibition at the British Museum continues until July 2027.
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