Inside a very pink night at the British Museum

On Saturday night, under the British Museum’s glass-domed Great Court, the 272-year old institution turned a deep shade of rose for its first-ever Pink Ball. The inaugural gala co-chaired by Isha Ambani and Dr Nicholas Cullinan OBE, welcomed nearly 900 guests from London’s creative, political, and philanthropic circuits.

The purpose was twofold: to celebrate London as a global centre of culture and to raise funds for the museum’s international partnerships — from Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS) to archaeological projects in Iraq, Ghana, and Benin City. It also marked the closing weekend of Ancient India: Living Traditions, the museum’s acclaimed exhibition exploring the sacred art and enduring practices of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism—a fitting point of departure for a night that placed India at its aesthetic heart.

Isha Ambani, who co-chaired the evening alongside Cullinan, framed its intent with clarity in her opening remarks: “This evening is a celebration of age-old creativity,” she said. “In India, pink is the colour of warmth, welcome and joy. It evokes a spirit of openness and grace integral to our culture. My hope is that our evening will be a reflection of these values, bringing global communities closer, fostering deep mutual respect and understanding.”

Ambani’s involvement as the driving force behind Mumbai’s Art House at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre, and as a trustee of institutions including the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art, has seen her working closely with the museum and its director in shaping the first edition—from its theme to its philanthropic focus. Timed with the end of Ancient India: Living Traditions, the event extended the exhibition’s conceptual and visual language into its design. “When we created the exhibition, we wanted to show that ancient and contemporary are not separate,” said Dr Sushma Jansari, the curator of the exhibit. “It’s not just about looking at sculptures in glass cases—it’s about feeling how these traditions live today.” To really practice the value of Jainism for example, in the exhibition, they used vegan materials and recycled fabrics instead of silk, and vegan paint and adhesives for the book. “The idea was to make the exhibition itself an ethical, living practice.”

That spirit of reinterpreting tradition was mirrored throughout the evening. Guests arrived at the museum’s south façade, lit in soft pink, before ascending the steps to the colonnade. Inside, the Great Court was washed in rose light, and the museum’s iconic Reading Room hosted the first champagne reception. The floral installations filled the space with arrangements of peonies, orchids, and roses — hundreds of them—in tonal gradations from blush to fuchsia.

The guest list read like a cultural index. From the art world came author Elif Shafak, curator Hans Ulrich Obrist, gallerist Roshini Vadehra, Bharti Kher, Subodh Gupta; from fashion, Naomi Campbell, Edward Enninful, Roksanda Ilincic, Erdem Moralıoğlu, and Simone Rocha; from film and music, Sir Mick Jagger, Janet Jackson, Maya Jama, and M.I.A. The South Asian contingent comprised Natasha Poonawalla in Alexander McQueen, Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, Rishi Sunak and wife Akshata Murthy, model Saffron Vadher wearing bespoke Saloni by designer Saloni Lodha, Leena Nair, and Isha Ambani herself in a custom Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla gown celebrating Indian craft, alongside her mother Nita Ambani, who wore a blush pink sari from Swadesh. Behind the scenes, an impressive 90-member committee of cultural figures had helped steer the evening—among them Miuccia Prada, Idris Elba, Naomi Campbell, Edward Enninful, Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad Al Thani, Rajeeb and Nadia Samdani, and Sabyasachi Mukherjee—signalling a globally inclusive approach to museum patronage.

Dinner was served across the museum’s galleries, with tables arranged among its permanent collection. The menu, inspired by Indian flavours, was presented in hand-painted tiffin tins, an elegant nod to craft and sustainability.

Music, too, moved between reverence and rhythm. Anoushka Shankar opened with a sitar performance accompanied by the Grammy-winning Jules Buckley Orchestra, a collaboration that filled the court with sitar, strings, and cinematic scale. Later, Buckley returned to the stage with surprise guests Tom Odell and M.I.A., both performing reimagined versions of their best-known songs with full orchestral backing.

The silent auction some art-world exclusives: a Tracey Emin pet portrait, a behind-the-scenes tour of the museum’s scientific labs, a private dinner hosted by Cullinan, and early access to view the Bayeux Tapestry on loan next year. After dinner, the party moved to the galleries, where works like The Tudor Heart, the museum’s newly acquired gold pendant linked to Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon, were on view. James Righton (Klaxons) closed the night with a DJ set under the museum’s south staircase.

Cullinan, in his remarks, summed up the evening’s ambition: “The British Museum Ball was intended to celebrate London—a city renowned for its arts, culture, creativity and style. Tonight’s event did just that by bringing together the actors, artists, collectors, designers and writers that make our city a cultural powerhouse. In doing so, we continue in the footsteps of the many cultural icons who have come to the British Museum over the past 275 years, from Mozart to Oscar Wilde.”

For a city used to art fairs and film premieres, the Pink Ball offered a cultural celebration that looked both to the past and to the future. The museum confirmed that the Pink Ball will return annually. Judging by its debut, London’s autumn calendar has acquired a new hot ticket in the city–one that’s steeped, fittingly, in pink.