Egypt has set July 3 as the official opening date for the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), following a review of preparations led by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly. The announcement came after President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi approved the date. Madbouly, chairing a meeting Tuesday to oversee the final arrangements for the opening ceremony, emphasised the importance of presenting the country in the best possible light. "The President approved setting the opening date for July 3," Madbouly said, adding that the celebrations for the highly anticipated event would extend over several days. "It is very important for the country to appear in its finest image." The Prime Minister noted that various ministries and relevant authorities have been assigned tasks, which will be regularly monitored to ensure the global opening ceremony is a success. The aim is to promote Egypt, its tourist destinations, and the achievements of the recent period. The meeting included a presentation by Mohamed Saadi detailing the proposed agenda for the GEM opening ceremony, from the invitation design for kings, presidents, princes, and senior officials to the various segments of the event. The responsibilities of each ministry and governorate were reviewed, as well as the required facilitations for the arrival and departure of guests and other logistical matters to ensure the event's smooth execution. Located near the Sphinx International Airport and overlooking the Giza Pyramids, the GEM is poised to become the world's largest museum dedicated to a single civilization: ancient Egypt. Spanning 500,000 square metres, twice the area of the Louvre Museum and two and a half times the area of the British Museum, the GEM is built on 117 feddans (approximately 49 hectares) in Giza. The museum will showcase over 50,000 artefacts from ancient Egypt, including the complete collection of King Tutankhamun, displayed together for the first time. More than 5,000 artefacts from Tutankhamun's tomb will be featured in two dedicated galleries.
