Sleepovers at the National Gallery in London are about to get an extreme luxury overhaul. For the first time, the gallery is hosting an overnight stay in a plush, luxury bed right in the heart of its exhibition rooms. Imagine waking up to the world’s greatest paintings and dreaming among masterpieces.

The National Gallery launched a prize draw for this exclusive experience before its public reopening. The lucky winner will not only get to sleep under the art but also become the first member of the public to enter the newly renovated Sainsbury Wing and experience the gallery’s largest rehang to date titled “CC Land: The Wonder of Art.”

The competition, part of the gallery’s 200th-anniversary celebrations, offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the winner to explore the permanent collection of more than 1,000 works of art, depicting the evolution of European painting from the 13th to the 20th century.

The evening will kick off with a gourmet dinner for two at Locatelli, the gallery’s opening restaurant. Afterward, the winner will enjoy a private after-hours tour led by Christine Riding, the National Gallery’s director of collections and research.

The special stay will be held on the gallery’s “bridge,” connecting the Sainsbury Wing to the rest of the National Gallery. The competition is open to anyone over 18 who registers for the National Gallery’s newsletter by April 28. The winner will be randomly selected and will have the unique chance to explore the gallery in solitude before it opens to the public on May 10.

Sir Gabriele Finaldi, the director of the National Gallery, expressed enthusiasm for the event, seeing it as a new way to both reimagine the storytelling around the gallery’s vast collection and offer a unique surprise via this special prize draw for a very lucky visitor.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2025/apr/07/national-gallery-sleepover-prize-draw-offers-chance-to-dream-among-paintings