The British Museum, free to enter since 1753, holds its second annual Ball on Saturday 17 October 2026, under Es Devlin's artistic direction, in aid of its Masterplan redevelopment.
The British Museum holds its second Ball in Bloomsbury on Saturday 17 October 2026, in aid of its Masterplan redevelopment. Es Devlin is the evening’s artistic director.
The museum was founded in 1753 on the collection of Sir Hans Sloane. It has never charged admission to the permanent collection in the two hundred and seventy years since.
Its Ball is a recent invention by that standard. The first was held in October 2025 for the Masterplan, the largest redevelopment of the Bloomsbury building since it was constructed. Nearly 900 guests came through the Great Court, and the night raised more than £2.5 million.
Seven in ten of those guests had never been to a museum event before, which was the point of holding one. A collection that charges nothing at the door has to find its capital elsewhere, and to keep recruiting the people who will pay for its next century.
Red is the theme of the second Ball, and Igor Tulchinsky is its honorary chair. It falls on the Saturday of Frieze week, when the international art audience is already in London.