It wasn’t James Cameron who turned ‘the unsinkable ship’ into a pop culture phenomenon; the Titanic has captured the public imagination for over a century. After the ship’s maiden voyage ended in tragedy in 1912—more than 1,500 lives were lost in the North Atlantic Ocean—it has gone on to inspire countless radio plays, TV shows, movies, poems, books, songs and anything else you can think of.
But one of the UK’s most celebrated touring exhibitions, the Titanic Exhibition, tell its tragic story as you’ve never seen before, with its authentic artefacts, immersive experiences and two remarkable centrepieces. Having already proved a success in Birmingham in 2024, it docks once more at the NEC this spring (April 19 to May 26, 2026)—this time, with a collection even more extraordinary than ever before.
What will I see at the Titanic Exhibition?
Tracing the ocean liner’s journey from its construction at a shipyard in Belfast, through its tragic sinking, to its rediscovery at the bottom of the ocean, the Titanic Exhibition boasts everything from authentic artefacts, immersive soundscapes and live actor crew members—each visitor receives a boarding card bearing the name of a real passenger who sailed on the ship.
Using imagery, audio and real objects from the RMS Titanic to convey life onboard the ship, among the highlights is an original Titanic deckchair, one of only a handful known to have survived, recovered from the ocean just days after the sinking. Also making its Birmingham debut is a fragment of original wooden decking, pulled from the seabed more than two miles below the Atlantic and recently conserved.
Just some of the other items recovered include silverware and china, along with many more of the Titanic’s interior and exterior artefacts. Also on display are artefacts from the Titanic’s sister ship, the Olympic, which received the distress call. Props from Titanic (1997) include a life jacket, one of the Heart of the Ocean necklaces, Captain Smith’s teacup and a saucer.
An Expert Pass is also available, offering intimate lectures with Dik Barton, one of the very few people on Earth to have dived to the Titanic wreck site. Tickets to the Titanic Exhibition cost from £11.99, and you can get yours here.
