Tens of thousands of people faced long waits to buy the first tickets to see the Bayeux Tapestry when it goes on display at the British Museum in September.
The 11th Century embroidery, which depicts the Norman conquest of England in 1066, is being loaned to the UK while its usual home, the Bayeux Museum in Normandy, undergoes a major renovation.
The 70m-long masterpiece will go on display in London for 10 months – the first time the tapestry has been exhibited on British soil.
More than 65,000 people joined in the online queue after the first batch of tickets were released at 10.00 BST on Wednesday.
Some social media users said they had spent hours in the virtual queue only for their request to time out, but others said they had secured tickets successfully.
Before tickets went on sale, the British Museum said it had been “expecting huge demand and interest”.
The museum’s director Dr Nicholas Cullinan told Radio 4’s Today programme on Wednesday that the tapestry’s arrival in the UK was an “incredible event”.
Dr Cullinan said great care would be taken to protect the embroidery during its visit, and that British ticket buyers would have the rare opportunity to see it at its full length.
“It will be laid flat, which is the best way to show it in terms of conservation, but the other thing that’s very exciting is it will be shown in one long line.
“This is the first time in centuries that people will be able to see the entire length of the tapestry.”
The embroidery will be transported in the coming weeks via the Eurotunnel, and will go on display in a specially manufactured glass case.
