Good morning ladies and gentlemen, today we are very proud to launch the first issue of our four-part weekly special series, Unveiling the GEM. We often take for granted the vast amount of treasures that sit right at our doorstep and it takes a global cultural event like the opening of the world’s largest museum for a single civilization to remind us that Egypt is a truly magical place.

In September 2017 EnterpriseAM was invited to take a sneak peek at the museum and ever since we have been mesmerized. You can read the story, “A day at the Grand Egyptian Museum,” here. At the time, we reported that the USD 1 bn museum was targeting a soft opening in mid-2018 and a full launch in 2022. The 2018 deadline slipped and in 2020 COVID shut down the world.

By the end of 2022 however the world and the GEM began to slowly come back to life. We proudly hosted the ‘Enterprise Climate X Forum’ our first ever event focused on climate finance and the second event ever to be hosted at the GEM. Since then the museum has been gradually opening up spaces and exhibits to the public. Already living up to its promise to become a hub for culture and knowledge, the GEM has hosted dozens of conferences, art exhibits, gala dinners, and opera performances, visitors and attendees have taken hundreds of thousands of selfies by the Ramses II statue, and this is just the beginning.

IN ANTICIPATION-

The highly anticipated opening in Egypt and around the world is expected to be attended by kings, leaders, presidents, and high-level delegations from around 60 countries — including Spain, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Turkey, Norway, Japan, Qatar, and the UAE.

ICYMI- Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly announced the opening day — Saturday, 1 November — a paid day off for public sector workers.

Want to visit the museum soon? The museum will reopen to the public starting Tuesday, 4 November. You can purchase your admission and guided tour ticket through the museum’s website.

“The museum will capture your hearts — both young and old,” Archaeologist and former Minister of Antiquities Zahi Hawass told EnterpriseAM. Hawass extended an invitation to foreign visitors, urging them to come witness Egypt’s living history, adding that King Ramses II will stand in majestic welcome to all guests from around the world, greeting them beneath one roof where the grandeur and creativity of Egyptian civilization come together.

The GEM is expected to attract 4–5 mn visitors annually once it officially opens, former Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Mostafa Waziri told us. He noted that, in addition to the treasures of Tutankhamun, the Grand Egyptian Museum will, for the first time, display 31 colorful coffins discovered in the Al Asasif cache, as well as new excavations from Saqqara that will be unveiled to the public for the first time.

The opening ceremony will also feature a special musical composition titled “Message for Peace”, written by composer Hisham Nazih and conducted by maestro Nayer Nagui, with the participation of 121 Egyptian artists alongside musicians from 70 countries.

The Finance Ministry will issue six commemorative gold and silver coins marking the inauguration of the Grand Egyptian Museum, Sherif Hazem Mansour, Engineering Advisor to the Minister of Finance, told us. Each coin is designed to reflect unique artifacts and symbols from the museum’s collection — “a tribute to Egypt’s ancient civilization and a gift from Egypt to the world.” The new coins will be issued in denominations of one, five, ten, 20, 50, and 100 pounds, with 500 units produced of each denomination to be sold as souvenirs. Mansour added that plans are also underway to mint circulating coins in the future to commemorate the historic occasion.

IN THIS MORNING’S ISSUE- We will tell the story behind the creation of the museum, the long journey it has taken to reach its long-awaited opening, the engineering brilliance and design philosophy it embodies, and how Egyptologists see in it a new opportunity for Egypt to retell its historical narrative.

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