Overview
- The British Museum staged its inaugural “Baile Rosa” fundraiser on Saturday, selling 800 invitation-only tickets at £2,000 each and drawing celebrities including Naomi Campbell, Mick Jagger and Janet Jackson.
- Guests dined inside the Duveen Gallery among the Parthenon friezes, which triggered criticism from Greece’s culture minister, Lina Mendoni.
- Mendoni said the museum showed “provocative indifference” and argued the 2,500-year-old sculptures were treated as décor in a way that threatened their integrity and dignity.
- The museum said the event was intended to celebrate London’s cultural standing and to raise funds for international collaborations, citing a planned Bayeux Tapestry exchange in 2026.
- Despite prior discussion of closer cooperation with Athens, any restitution remains blocked by the British Museum Act 1963 and negotiations have produced no binding agreement.