Egypt opens grand museum in lavish, pharaonic ceremony after two-decade wait

Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - Lightning effects depicting the funerary mask of ancient Egyptian King Tutankhamun light up the sky during the opening ceremony of the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) in Giza, on the southwestern outskirts of the capital Cairo on November 1, 2025. Near the ancient Pyramids of Giza just outside Cairo, the Grand Egyptian Museum is gearing up for a lavish opening on November 1, after two decades of delays. — AFP pic

CAIRO, Nov 2 — Egypt at last opened the US$1 billion (RM4.18 billion) Grand Egyptian Museum yesterday as performers dressed in white tunics embroidered with designs inspired by ancient frescoes greeted guests.

“Today, as we celebrate together the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum, we are writing a new chapter in the history of the present and the future,” Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi told a gathering of dignitaries seated in the museum’s square.

Cairo has pinned great hopes on the long-delayed museum, a key plank of plans to revive the tourism industry so vital to its troubled economy.

It will be home to tens of thousands of objects dating back more than six millennia.

The audience at the opening watched a spectacular display of light and music, with the pyramids towering in front of them.

On giant screens above, scenes from celebrations in Tokyo and Rio de Janeiro played out against the backdrop of Egypt’s ancient monuments.

Dozens of performers dressed in elaborate Pharaonic costumes, their foreheads crowned with golden wreaths and sceptres in hand, played traditional tunes as a laser show depicting pharaohs and fireworks lit up the night sky above the museum.

“It is a living testimony to the genius of the Egyptian human, who built the pyramids and inscribed on the walls the story of immortality,” Sisi said, referring to the new institution.

Lights illuminate the sky during the opening ceremony of the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) in Giza, on the southwestern outskirts of the capital Cairo on November 1, 2025. — AFP pic

A dream coming true 

Yesterday morning, roads around the museum were cordoned off and security tightened ahead of the opening, with giant banners draped from buildings and strung across streets — advertising the launch.

“This is the dream that all of us imagined. We all dreamed that this project would be realised,” Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly told a press conference in Cairo yesterday.

Set on a gentle slope overlooking the Giza Plateau, just beyond the shadow of the pyramids, the museum was built with major financial and technical support from Japan and spreads across nearly half a million square metres.

Madbouly said that the “largest part of construction, finishing and bringing this global landmark to its current form occurred during the past seven to eight years.”

More than two decades in the making, the GEM faced multiple delays due to setbacks related to political unrest, regional conflicts and the Covid-19 pandemic.

The museum houses more than 100,000 artefacts, half of which will be on display, making it the world’s largest collection devoted to a single civilisation, according to Egyptian officials.

Inside, visitors will enter vast, light-filled halls with soaring ceilings and sand-coloured stone walls that echo the surrounding desert.

Fireworks light up the sky during the opening ceremony of the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) in Giza, on the southwestern outskirts of the capital Cairo on November 1, 2025. — AFP pic

At the centre of the main atrium stands an 83-tonne statue of Ramses II, the pharaoh who ruled Egypt for 66 years and presided over its golden age.

Unlike the cramped, century-old Egyptian Museum in central Cairo, the GEM features immersive galleries, precision lighting, virtual-reality exhibits and even a children’s museum.

One highlight is a live conservation lab, visible through floor-to-ceiling glass, where visitors can watch restorers assembling a 4,500-year-old solar boat buried near Khufu’s pyramid, built to carry his soul across the sky with the sun god Ra.

The undisputed star of the show, however, is King Tutankhamun’s collection of more than 5,000 objects, many displayed together for the first time.

Tourism hopes 

The museum opens to the public on Tuesday, showcasing thousands of funerary artefacts previously scattered across Egypt.

Egypt’s tourism sector, a vital source of foreign currency and jobs, has been repeatedly shaken over the past decade and a half — from the 2011 uprising to waves of unrest and sporadic terrorist attacks in the aftermath.

Lightning effects depicting the sarcophagus Egyptian King Tutankhamun light up the sky during the opening ceremony of the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) in Giza, on the southwestern outskirts of the capital Cairo on November 1, 2025. — AFP pic

In recent years, tourism has shown signs of recovery, with 15 million visitors travelling to Egypt in the first nine months of 2025 and generating US$12.5 billion, up 21 per cent from a year earlier.

Egyptian Tourism Minister Sherif Fathy expected yesterday that total tourist arrivals would stand at 18 million by the end of this year.

He told reporters the government expects the museum to draw five million visitors annually, adding that it currently welcomes 5,000 to 6,000 visitors each day.

“We hope to increase that to 15,000 daily,” said Fathy. — AFP