Cairo will open the long-awaited Grand Egyptian Museum on Saturday, a billion-dollar showcase of pharaonic grandeur that Egypt hopes will help revive tourism and boost its economy.

The museum, 2km from the Great Pyramid in Giza, will host what has been described as “a night to remember” by Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Sherif Fathy. 

With years of anticipation, delays and meticulous preparation culminating in this moment, the museum’s unveiling promises to be a defining chapter in Egypt’s cultural and tourist history.

Seventy-nine delegations, including 39 heads of state and government, are expected at the ceremony, which is set to start on Saturday evening.

Delegations from Germany, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Belgium, Spain and Denmark will be present, according to a statement from the Egyptian presidency.

Japan financially and technically assisted in building the museum, which spreads across nearly half a million square metres.

It houses more than 100,000 artefacts, half of which will be on display, making it the world's largest collection devoted to a single civilisation, according to Egyptian officials.

Inside, visitors will enter vast, light-filled halls with soaring ceilings and sand-coloured stone walls that echo the surrounding desert.

Among its highlights are a colossal statue of Ramses II in the atrium, a hanging obelisk dedicated to the same king, and a “Journey to Eternity” staircase lined with statues of gods and pharaohs.

For many who have been awaiting the museum’s inauguration for decades, this will be not just a moment of celebration but also one of reflection.

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi wrote on social media that the museum will bring "together the genius of ancient Egyptians and the creativity of modern Egyptians, enhancing the world culture and art with a new landmark that will attract all those who cherish civilization and knowledge.”

Farouq Hosny, Egypt's former culture minister, recounts the unusual genesis of the landmark. 

As he tells it, the idea came to him when a prominent Italian publisher and graphic designer, Franco Maria Ricci, provoked him by calling the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities in central Cairo a “storage warehouse” during a conversation in Paris.

“To my own surprise, the anger I felt prompted me to tell him that we plan to build the world's largest museum in Egypt,” Mr Hosny, who was culture minister between 1987 and 2011.

“That was in 1992, and we certainly were not building or even thinking of building anything at the time. But I made that up because I was so angry. He then asked where will the museum be, and I said it will be near the pyramids.”

In recent years, tourism in Egypt has shown signs of recovery, with 15 million visitors in the first nine months of 2025 and generating $12.5 billion, up 21 per cent from a year earlier.