Egypt has opened a Grand Museum at the Pyramids of Giza

This is reported by Phys.org.

The opening ceremony will take place on Saturday in Cairo with unprecedented scope and pomp. The museum, located at the foot of the Giza pyramids, is considered the centrepiece of a sweeping strategy to modernise the tourism industry, Egypt's key source of revenue.

GEM took more than two decades to build and cost more than $1 billion. Tens of thousands of artefacts spanning five thousand years of Egyptian history, from the Old Kingdom to the Hellenistic period, are housed in halls covering an area of over 480,000 square metres.

A special place is occupied by a collection of some 5,000 objects from the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun, including the famous golden mask, which will be displayed in a specially designed climate-controlled room. The items were previously scattered across several museums, including the historic Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square.

Organisers estimate that the Grand Museum will welcome up to five million visitors annually, offering tourists a unique overview of ancient Egyptian culture against the backdrop of the panorama of the Pyramids of Giza.

Preparations for the ceremony were held in the strictest secrecy. Egyptian authorities did not reveal the names of the invited guests, but promised the presence of "monarchs, heads of state and world leaders".

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi instructed at a special meeting to ensure the level of the ceremony "in line with Egypt's status as a leader in the field of museums and world culture."

Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly, touring the facility the previous day, said the opening of the GEM "symbolises Egypt's role as the cradle of civilisation and a global centre of cultural innovation".

The opening was originally scheduled for 3 July, but the date was postponed due to the armed conflict between Israel and Iran, which temporarily closed airspace over the region.

The project had previously faced political crises, economic difficulties and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, despite all the trials, the authorities brought it to completion.

The Grand Museum is set to become not only a tourist destination but also a world-class scientific and cultural centre. Egypt has also launched a partnership with TikTok to tell the "story of Egypt's civilisation" to a global audience through short videos.

Tourism, which accounts for about 10 per cent of the country's employment, has shown a strong recovery in recent years. Some 15 million tourists visited Egypt in the first nine months of 2025, bringing in $12.5bn - 21% more than a year earlier.