Can You Get Tickets To London’s Version Of The Met Gala?
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3 hours ago
The British Museum is set to host a star-studded fundraiser (known as the Pink Ball) this October
Does the world need another Met Gala? Maybe not stateside, but here in Britain a high-profile fundraiser has plenty of appeal – especially when it comes hot on the heels of London Fashion Week. Just weeks after London’s biggest fashion event, the city is getting its own Met Gala courtesy of the British Museum.
‘We’d been talking about there being a gap for a sort of national flagship event,’ explained Nicholas Cullinan, director of the British Museum (and the gala’s version of Anna Wintour), in an interview with The Telegraph. But while the Met Gala might be a source of inspiration, it’s not going to be the exact blueprint for what the British Museum has planned.
‘I’ve never been to the Met Gala – said without bitterness!’ Cullinan added. ‘You’re not going to replicate [an event like] that – and I don’t think you would want to. It’s an incredible event for New York, but London is quite different. It’s important that our ball reflects the British Museum in terms of who’s on the committee and who comes – to make it feel very London.’
He also cited large-scale celebrations like the 2012 Olympics opening ceremony as a reference point, describing it as ‘fantastic, quirky and humorous – making you feel proud to be British’.
‘I don’t think, as a nation, we tend to go around saying, “We’re so amazing”,’ he added. ‘But it did quietly make you think what an amazing history we’re part of. In a lot of the things that I do, I refer back to that.’
From this, we gather that this will be, for the most part, a gala grounded in Britishness and London culture (even if the bare bones resemble the Met Gala). So what can we expect? Here’s what we know so far.
The British Museum Gala: Everything We Know So Far
Zendaya at the Met Gala 2025, in Louis Vuitton (c) Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
What Is The British Museum Gala?
The British Museum Gala is a newly announced fundraising ball set up by London institution the British Museum. Serving as a social pillar uniting the worlds of art, fashion, music and more, the event closely resembled the Met Gala – which similarly raises millions of dollars for New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art every year.
Timed to coincide with the opening of Frieze London art fair and the BFI London Film Festival, the goal of the new gala is to shine a spotlight on the UK capital and reinforce its role as a global centre of creativity and culture.
And the funds raised by the gala will be used to support the British Museum’s international partnerships, including its work with the Kumasi Palace in Ghana, the History Museum of Armenia and next year’s historic cultural exchange of the Bayeux Tapestry.
When Is It?
Sooner than you might think – the British Museum Gala is set to take place on Saturday 18 October 2025.
The date itself was intentional – but unlike the Met Gala, which falls on the first Monday of May by tradition, the British Museum Gala date has been fixed so that it coincides with Frieze London and Frieze Masters.
Where Is It?
The British Museum will be hosting the gala, with the event taking place in the museum’s Great Court and across its exhibition spaces.
Will There Be A Theme?
There’s a reason people are calling the event the ‘Pink Ball’. Just like the Met Gala, the British Museum Gala will similarly have a dress code that ties in with the current exhibition theme. This year, event organisers were inspired by the colours and lights of India – as seen in Ancient India: Living Traditions – with the standout being a deep pink.
‘This year, the ball coincides with the closing weekend of our Ancient India exhibition, so the theme is pink,’ Cullinan explained. ‘We talked so much about the right shade. It has to be this pink that almost has a bit of purple. It can’t be too blush, or too garish. It can’t be Barbie pink. It’s got to be right.’
The theme will extend just as much to the venue as the fashion – with it being rumoured that the steps and columns of the British Museum will be bathed in pink lights, while the Great Court will serve up rosy champagne as guests meander amongst blushing foliage and sherbert-shadowed relics.
The Great Court at the British Museum
What Will Happen At The British Museum Gala?
While the setting will be glamorous, the actual itinerary for the British Museum Gala will be pretty standard. Guests will arrive at the event, likely stopping for photo opportunities like at the museum entrance. They’ll then proceed to the Great Court, where there will be a drinks reception and speeches from the gala organisers, co-chairs and committee members, before sitting down for dinner at tables carefully placed amongst the British Museum’s bountiful collection.
A silent auction will also run throughout the evening, alongside performances from Grammy-nominated sitarist Anoushka Shankar and Grammy-winning conductor and composer Jules Buckley.
Who Are The British Museum Gala Chairs?
This first iteration of the British Museum Gala will be co-chaired by Nicholas Cullinan OBE, director of the British Museum, and, in honour of the museum’s coinciding exhibition, Indian businesswoman Isha Ambani.
Cullinan stepped into his role as director of the British Museum in March 2024. Prior to that, he served a nine-year stint as director of the National Portrait Gallery and has held posts at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Tate Modern.
The American-born, British-raised art historian and curator certainly has his roots firmly planted in the art world, with a career spanning nearly 20 years. And his achievements have even been recognised by the royal family, who appointed Cullinan an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2024 New Year Honours for his services to art.
Isha Ambani, meanwhile, is the daughter of Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani – and a successful businesswoman in her own right. She has played a crucial role in expanding India’s retail sector through her work as Managing Director of Reliance Retail, and has shown a real passion for luxury fashion (one which has often landed her on the best-dressed pages of high-end magazines).
Speaking on her involvement in the British Museum Gala, Ambani said: ‘I am honoured to be the co-chair of the inaugural Pink Ball at the British Museum, set amidst the extraordinary exhibition Ancient India: Living Traditions illustrating how significantly early devotional art from India has influenced global, contemporary culture.
‘This incredible event celebrates the rich creative legacy of India and furthers cultural conversations globally, deepening mutual respect and understanding.’
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Who Will Be On The Committee?
Alongside Cullinan and Ambani, the British Museum Gala committee consists of up to 100 high-profile figures from the worlds of business, culture, entertainment and fashion. Some familiar names include supermodel Naomi Campbell, author Zadie Smith, actor Idris Elba, designer Miuccia Prada, and the founder of Qatar Museums Al-Mayassa bint Hamad Al Thani.
Who Will Be Attending?
The names on the British Museum Gala guest list have yet to be revealed – and we likely won’t find out who will be taking to the museum’s marble steps until 18 October.
If it’s anything like the Met Gala, we can expect a slew of famous faces from the worlds of music, film, art and fashion. Zendaya, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Colman Domingo and Sarah Jessica Parker are all regulars at the New York occasion, but it’s more likely we’ll see a more British celeb set take London by storm.
Can You Get Tickets?
Sadly not – the event is already sold out, with invitations and tickets having already been sent out earlier this year. There were reportedly 800 tickets available for the British Museum Gala, all of which were privately sold (and priced at £2,000 a pop) to brands, historic supporters and celebrities in the area or Frieze-bound.
Can You Stream It?
In recent years, people at home have been able to watch the Met Gala via TV channels in the US and streaming on YouTube worldwide – largely thanks to Vogue’s coverage of the event. It’s not clear whether we can expect anything similar for the British Museum Gala, but we’re hopeful that we’ll get some kind of look into what’s shaping up to be the biggest night in the London social calendar.
