BRITISH MUSEUM, DROP BP!

ZINE OUT NOW !! PARTNERS IN LOOT: BP AND THE BRITISH MUSEUM PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

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ZINE OUT NOW !! PARTNERS IN LOOT: BP AND THE BRITISH MUSEUM PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE - Click here -

In December 2023, the British Museum signed a new 50 million 10-year sponsorship with BP.

This was only a few weeks after BP announced their bid for gas exploration licenses in occupied Palestinian waters, a few miles offshore from the Zionist genocide in Gaza.

For the past 18 months, alongside supporters, activists and museum staff, we have been running a sustained pressure campaign demanding that the museum sever all ties to BP.

OUR

DEMANDS

1. DROP BP

Sever all ties to BP, including ending the £50 million sponsorship deal and any other sub-contracts.

Establish an ‘ethics committee’ with members from the board, directorate and union reps to oversee future funding opportunities, partnerships, and political events at the museum.

2. CONSULT STAFF

Issue a public statement committing to no future funding from fossil fuel or BDS-listed companies.

3. NO FUTURE FUNDING

Rename the ‘BP Lecture Theatre’ to de-platform BP from the museum.

4. RENAME LECTURE THEATRE

BRITISH MUSEUM

DROP BP!

BRITISH MUSEUM DROP BP!

Are you a British Museum Worker and would like to get in touch off the record?

Would you like to support our campaign efforts?

Fill out this form or email us at: community@energyembargoforpalestine.com

EXPLAINED: Why we target the British Museum
EXPOSED: Genocide Gala at the British Museum
READ: Meet the waitress who disrupted the British Museum’s ball

OUR ACTIONS

We launched Energy Embargo for Palestine in March 2024 with an occupation of the British Museum. In response, the museum shut down its doors to visitors for the rest of the day.

Since then, we’ve gone back to the museum multiple times, occupied it alongside partners from Parents for Palestine and BP or not BP, and connected with staff inside the museum.

WHY DO WE TARGET THE BRITISH MUSEUM? 

  • The British Museum is a strategic pressure point against BP. In June 2025, BP’s internal memos revealed how, in its own words, BP uses cultural sponsorship to “secure public support and advocacy from partners to mitigate risks and advance business interests.”

  • We are not targeting arts or culture workers. As organisers, trade union members and cultural workers ourselves, we are fighting for a more democratic cultural institution that takes its concerns of its staff seriously, is aligned with the ethical views of the staff, and allows them democratic representation in decision-making that will impact their everyday working environments.

  • As one of Britain’s most important landmarks, decisions taken by the British Museum set standards that reverberate beyond its walls, carrying implications for the wider arts and culture sector. This makes political struggle at the British Museum all the more significant.

  • We know this is a popular, winnable campaign - and we can point to a host of successful divestment campaigns at other cultural institutions for inspiration, from the National Gallery to the Tate Modern.

    The £50 million sponsorship is heavily in BP’s favour, which it uses to whitewash its image as saviour of the arts, while the British Museum suffers reputationally, betrays its staff members and the government finds another excuse to double down on austerity cuts to the arts.

    The British Museum has been the subject of protest for decades - from climate groups to anti-colonial campaigns and organised museum workers. Together, we have the power to build a more ethical, democratic cultural institution free from colonial violence and oil money.