The event was also an opportunity to highlight Egyptian talent, with performances from operatic soprano Fatma Said (who also performed at the GEM’s first concert in January 2023) and violin duo Amira and Mariam Abouzahra, alongside traditional whirling dervishes and a Nubian singer.
A narrative throughline on the screen depicted a young boy walking through the museum and offered viewers a preview of the treasures inside, culminating with the Khufu solar boats and Tutankhamun collection, which will be fully revealed to the public for the first time from Tuesday, November 4. After the ceremony, world leaders, dignitaries, and VIP guests were offered private tours of the museum.
Covering an area of 5 million square feet, the Grand Egyptian Museum includes the hanging obelisk plaza; main atrium with an 36-foot-high, 83-ton, 3,200-year-old Ramses II statue; grand staircase lined with dozens of colossal statues; 12 main galleries spanning prehistoric times to the Graeco-Roman period; Children’s Museum; Tutankhamun Gallery; Solar Boats Museum; the Middle East’s largest restoration centre; exhibition halls; and conference spaces.
“The museum is phenomenal because of the variety, quality and number of objects,” Salima Ikram, professor of Egyptology at the American University in Cairo, said.
Plans for the museum were first announced in 1992 under President Hosni Mubarak, who laid the foundation stone a decade later. Construction began in 2005, but political upheaval, economic challenges and global events—from the 2011 revolution to the Covid-19 pandemic and regional conflicts—repeatedly delayed completion. The Japan International Cooperation Agency provided the largest share of funding, with two loans totaling $800 million.
Parts of the Grand Egyptian Museum opened to the public in November 2022, starting with the main atrium and retail area. In October 2024, the main galleries opened, leaving only the prized Tutankhamun collection and the Khufu solar boats concealed until the official inauguration.
