After more than two decades of planning and construction, Egypt inaugurated its long-awaited Grand Egyptian Museum on Saturday night, a sprawling $1 billion complex near the pyramids of Giza that officials hailed as the largest museum in the world dedicated to a single civilization.
President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and his wife, Entissar, hosted the opening ceremony, welcoming dozens of foreign dignitaries, including Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. About 80 delegations from countries around the world attended, along with representatives of regional and international organizations and major global companies.
Inauguration of Egypt’s new antiquities museum
(Video: Reuters)
The event featured artistic performances, including laser and drone shows. El-Sissi placed the final piece in a scale model of the museum to mark its official opening, and world leaders who attended received miniature replicas of the museum as keepsakes.
“This magnificent structure is not just a repository of priceless artifacts,” el-Sissi said in his address. “It is a living testament to the genius of the Egyptian people, who built the pyramids and inscribed the story of eternity on the walls.”
Entissar el-Sissi wrote on Facebook that she was honored to welcome Egypt’s guests “and share this moment that embodies the meaning of beauty in creativity, strength in peace, and identity in a civilization whose light never fades.”
Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly called the opening “an exceptional event” and “Egypt’s gift to the world.” He said the idea for the museum dated back 30 years and was delayed by Egypt’s 2011 revolution before being revived under el-Sissi’s orders. “The greatest progress on the Grand Egyptian Museum was achieved during President el-Sissi’s tenure,” he said, noting that the project had been completed over the past seven years. The opening had been postponed several times, including due to the war in the Gaza Strip.
Arab media had heavily promoted the ceremony, which officials said featured about 100,000 artifacts, including the complete collection of Tutankhamun displayed in full for the first time since its discovery in 1922. Even the event invitations drew attention, designed in the shape of a golden sarcophagus. A Japanese archaeologist’s video unboxing the invitation went viral ahead of the ceremony.
Streets near the site were decorated, and heavy security was deployed. Egyptians were given a public holiday on Saturday to follow the celebrations, though the museum will open to the public on Tuesday.
While many Egyptians praised the achievement, others criticized the lavish spending given the country’s severe economic hardships. Similar complaints have been raised about other high-profile projects launched under el-Sissi in recent years.
Ahead of the ceremony, the Egyptian Space Agency released a video documenting the museum’s construction over the past 23 years.
On the sidelines of the event, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen presented his Egyptian counterpart, Badr Abdelatty, with a LEGO model of the Great Pyramid of Giza. The evening concluded with an official group photo of the attending leaders and dignitaries.