After two decades of construction work and over a billion dollars of investment, the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) will finally open its doors in Cairo on Saturday 1 November, in the presence of some forty heads of state and numerous foreign delegations. Dedicated to 5,000 years of Pharaonic history, this world-class museum symbolises both Egypt's cultural influence and the country's desire to revive its tourism sector, which is in full recovery.
A true architectural masterpiece, the GEM offers a spectacular view of the pyramids of Giza. This pharaonic project, the fruit of twenty years of titanic work, cost over a billion dollars. It will bring together the most emblematic treasures of Ancient Egypt, some of which have never been exhibited before. The authorities hope to welcome up to five million visitors a year.
A prestigious inauguration
No fewer than 80 official delegations, including some forty headed by sovereigns, presidents or heads of government, will attend the inauguration ceremony, according to the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Preparations have been carried out with the utmost discretion. No details have been released about the evening's programme or the presentation of Tutankhamun's treasure, the museum's centrepiece. Discovered in 1922 in an intact tomb in the Valley of the Kings, this treasure will be presented in its entirety for the first time, with 4,500 funerary objects reunited from the 5,000 known, previously scattered among several museums in the country, including the one in Tahrir Square.
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A national and cultural symbol
Aware of the importance of this event, President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi insisted on the need to organise a ceremony "worthy of Egypt's prestige and its role as the cradle of world civilisation". The government also emphasised the cultural and scientific dimension of the GEM, which is set to become an international benchmark.
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A long-awaited opening
Initially scheduled for July, the opening of the museum was postponed due to regional tensions, after several postponements linked to the Arab Spring and then the Covid-19 pandemic. This time, everything seems set to give the event a global reach.
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