The occasion was additionally a possibility to focus on Egyptian expertise, with performances from operatic soprano Fatma Said (who additionally carried out at the GEM’s first live performance in January 2023) and violin duo Amira and Mariam Abouzahra, alongside conventional whirling dervishes and a Nubian singer.
A story throughline on the display depicted a younger boy strolling by way of the museum and provided viewers a preview of the treasures inside, culminating with the Khufu photo voltaic boats and Tutankhamun assortment, which shall be absolutely revealed to the public for the first time from Tuesday, November 4. After the ceremony, world leaders, dignitaries, and VIP visitors had been provided personal excursions of the museum.
Covering an space of 5 million sq. ft, the Grand Egyptian Museum contains the hanging obelisk plaza; predominant atrium with an 36-foot-high, 83-ton, 3,200-year-old Ramses II statue; grand staircase lined with dozens of colossal statues; 12 predominant galleries spanning prehistoric instances to the Graeco-Roman interval; Children’s Museum; Tutankhamun Gallery; Solar Boats Museum; the Middle East’s largest restoration centre; exhibition halls; and convention areas.
“The museum is phenomenal because of the variety, quality and number of objects,” Salima Ikram, professor of Egyptology at the American University in Cairo, mentioned.
Plans for the museum had been first introduced in 1992 below President Hosni Mubarak, who laid the basis stone a decade later. Construction started in 2005, however political upheaval, financial challenges and international occasions—from the 2011 revolution to the Covid-19 pandemic and regional conflicts—repeatedly delayed completion. The Japan International Cooperation Agency offered the largest share of funding, with two loans totaling $800 million.
Parts of the Grand Egyptian Museum opened to the public in November 2022, beginning with the predominant atrium and retail space. In October 2024, the predominant galleries opened, leaving solely the prized Tutankhamun assortment and the Khufu photo voltaic boats hid till the official inauguration.