The second annual British Museum Ball drew celebrities including Traitors star Maya Jama, actor Benedict Cumberbatch and Rolling Stones singer Sir Mick Jagger, while multiple protests took place outside on Saturday evening.
Protests over BP sponsorship
The fundraising event for the London landmark faced demonstrations, including from a pro-Palestine group opposing the museum’s sponsorship by BP. During the evening, protesters projected “Drop BP” and “Blood Ball” on the building.
Earlier this week, campaign group Energy Embargo for Palestine asked supporters to stage a demonstration at the ball opposing the museum’s celebration of the US and its sponsorship by BP.
Another demonstrator, who said she was a guest at the event, unfurled a red banner reading “Return the Marbles”, believed to be in protest over the ownership of the Parthenon Marbles. The statues came from friezes on the 2,500-year-old Parthenon temple and have been displayed at the museum for more than 200 years since they were removed by Lord Elgin when he was British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire in the early 19th century.
Bayeux Tapestry theme
The ball is said to have been inspired by its autumn exhibitions including the loan of the Bayeux Tapestry from France. Host Rosanna Konarzewski was photographed outside the museum’s steps wearing an eye-catching dress inspired by the 11th-century embroidered cloth.
The 70-metre (229ft) tapestry, which is made of linen with embroidered images of the Norman Conquest, arrived at the British Museum in July. The theme of the ball this year was red, with the attraction saying the colour was a “unifying thread woven through all three of the museum’s upcoming displays”.
Notable guests
Game Of Thrones star Gwendoline Christie was photographed on the carpet wearing a burgundy dress and clutching a red rose. Actresses Cush Jumbo and Lesley Manville, social activist Bianca Jagger and former chancellor George Osborne were also in attendance.
They were joined by former British Vogue editor Edward Enninful, models Erin O’Connor and Adot Gak, and architect Kulapat Yantrasast. Other exhibitions at the museum this autumn include a display marking the 250th anniversary of the United States and a landmark exhibition exploring 2,000 years of Korean creativity.
Last year’s ball raised more than £2.5 million for the museum’s international partnerships. According to the museum, proceeds this year will go towards its “masterplan” project, which includes overhauling its “outdated energy infrastructure” by phasing out fossil fuels and shifting to low-carbon energy.
