Blind man challenges British Museum over lack of audio tours for Bayeux Tapestry

​The British Museum is facing legal action ​over its Bayeux Tapestry ‌exhibition, with ​lawyers representing a blind man alleging the museum is breaching equalities laws by not providing audio-described tours.

Dr Yusuf Ali Osman ‌asked the museum whether live audio-described tours would be provided for the long-awaited exhibition of the nearly 1,000-year-old embroidery, which depicts the conquest of England by William I in 1066. Osman's lawyers say ‌the British Museum's decision to prioritise self-guided visits due to restrictions on the tapestry's ‌light exposure, which limit the number of visitors, was a breach of the Equality Act.

A spokesperson for the British Museum said, however, that it was planning dedicated tours which would feature "an in-person audio-described tour". "We are also ⁠exploring ​including a separate audio-described tour ⁠as part of the exhibition's app-based audio guide," the spokesperson added.

Osman said in a statement: "I want to ⁠be able to visit the Bayeux Tapestry and experience it for myself. "I understand that there are ​important restrictions around how the tapestry is displayed, but it is disappointing to find that ⁠blind visitors are not being offered an audio-described way of experiencing it."

His lawyer, Kate Egerton from the ⁠firm ​Leigh Day, said: "The Equality Act places obligations on service providers to anticipate the needs of disabled people and take reasonable steps to avoid substantial disadvantage. "Our client is asking for ⁠the same opportunity as sighted visitors to experience this exhibition."

The exhibition of the 70-metre-long tapestry, ⁠which allows ticket-holders 40 ⁠minutes to view it from an elevated platform, has been hugely popular. The first batch of tickets sold out and generated nearly £2.5 ‌million ($3.32 million). ($1 = ‌0.7536 pounds)