More than 30 years after the initial announcement of its plans, the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) is preparing for its official inauguration on November 1, marking a historic moment for Egypt and the global cultural community. Although parts of the museum have already opened to the public, the long-awaited Tutankhamun Hall will be unveiled for the first time during the grand opening ceremony.
“The preparations are in full swing so that the event reflects the magnitude and significance of this historic moment,” the Egyptian government stated in August. The ceremony will be attended by international guests and accompanied by special cultural events that will showcase the “eternal heritage of Egypt” on a global scale.
From skepticism to admiration
The completion of the project has united the nation. “At first, I wasn’t in favor of the GEM,” admits Egyptian art consultant Mai Eldib. “I felt sorry for the exhibits leaving the old museum. But now I have completely changed my mind. We need a space worthy of the 21st century to house 3,000 years of civilization — and the GEM achieves that in an impressive way.”
For Egyptians and Egyptologists alike, the museum has already begun to influence Cairo’s cultural life. Over the past two years, it has hosted exhibitions, concerts, lectures, gastronomy festivals, and family events — even outside the main building — attracting wide audiences through interactive activities, games, and treasure hunts.
Cutting-edge laboratories and a mission of preservation
The museum’s conservation laboratories have been operating since 2010. Thousands of artifacts are being prepared there, many requiring specialized restoration after suffering from outdated conservation techniques used a century ago. The GEM features state-of-the-art equipment, which is also used by other museums across Egypt to restore delicate objects.
“The dedication of the people was moving,” recalls researcher Sarah Ali, who worked at the museum for four years. “I remember the transfer of a statue accompanied by 22 Egyptologists and conservators, with two police cars leading the truck!”
Tutankhamun at the center
The legendary Tutankhamun is the star of the new museum. The design of the exhibition halls, by the German studio Atelier Brückner, allows for two parallel narratives: the life and reign of the young pharaoh, and the discovery of his tomb by Howard Carter in 1922. The famous golden funerary mask, displayed behind 40-mm-thick bulletproof glass, greets visitors at the entrance.
At the end of the route, visitors reach a faithful reconstruction of the burial chamber, where digital projections highlight the dense arrangement of objects found inside the tomb. “It was filled with everything the king would need in the afterlife,” explains Britta Nagel, designer at Atelier Brückner.
A museum with the pyramids as its backdrop
The GEM dominates the Giza Plateau, about 45 minutes from downtown Cairo, with its grand scale offering views of the Pyramids. The idea was first presented in 1992 by then-President Hosni Mubarak, when the old Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square could no longer handle the massive number of tourists.
Although the old museum remains open, the most important artifacts have now been moved to the GEM. Admission for tourists costs 1,270 Egyptian pounds (around £20), while for Egyptians the price is 200 pounds (about £3). In 2020, a new Giza airport was inaugurated to accommodate the expected rise in international visitors.
Delays and crises
The project’s path was far from smooth. The total cost reached around $1 billion, while a series of crises — from the Arab Spring and the pandemic to the recent economic downturn and geopolitical tensions — repeatedly delayed the opening. The latest postponement, by four months, was due to concerns over the escalation of the Iran–Israel conflict in June.
The main financial partner was Japan, through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which provided two loans totaling 84.2 billion yen (approximately $800 million). As a symbol of this cooperation, many of the museum’s signs are written in Japanese, Arabic, and English.
Today, the GEM operates under a public–private partnership, managed by the Egyptian company Hassan Allam, with the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities overseeing the collections. The museum’s director is Ahmed Ghoneim, who took office in October 2024.
A new chapter for Egyptian heritage
The Grand Egyptian Museum officially opens to the public on November 4, exactly 103 years after the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb. For Egypt, this project represents more than just a new museum — it is a national symbol of renewal, bridging the country’s ancient past with its future.
