The long-awaited, official opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum on 3 July has been postponed yet again. On Saturday, the Egyptian prime minister, Mostafa Madbouly, announced that the museum’s full launch will take place in the last quarter of this year, due to the outbreak of war between Israel and Iran.
“In light of the current regional developments, it has been decided to postpone the official opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum,” the tourism and antiquities ministry said in a reported statement. “A new date … will be announced in due course, following coordination with all relevant authorities to ensure the organisation of an event that reflects Egypt’s prominent cultural and tourism status on the international stage.”
The museum is mostly open already, with sections such as the conservation studios that have been operating since 2010, and the contemporary programme, which has been running since 2023. Last autumn, the museum opened most of its Egyptian galleries, including the grand staircase that Egypt hopes will become an iconic feature of the 81,000 sq. m. museum. But the GEM held off on its Tutankhamen galleries, saving this sought-after section for the high-level opening.
It is yet another delay for the museum, which was first announced as a project in 1992. The reasons are numerous, ranging from political instability to financial setbacks to the Covid pandemic. It is widely understood that the museum postponed its official opening last autumn due to sensitivities around the regional political situation. As a neighbour to both Gaza and Sudan, Egypt has been severely affected by those conflicts, with an estimated 1.2 million Sudanese coming into Egypt in the first 19 months of the Civil War, according to government figures, as well as thousands of Gazans via the Rafah crossing. The country is also still recovering from a currency crisis in 2022 to 2024, when the value of the Egyptian pound plunged by 75%.
While Egypt is not involved in the Iran-Israel conflict, the museum has again taken the decision that it is not the right moment to hold a celebration.
“This decision also stems from Egypt’s national responsibility and its commitment to presenting a truly exceptional global event in an atmosphere worthy of the grandeur of Egyptian civilisation and its unique heritage, and in a way that ensures broad international participation aligned with the significance of the occasion,” the ministry’s statement said.
The sentiment appears to be mirrored on the ground. Several Cairenes and Egyptians that The Art Newspaper spoke to all agreed with the museum’s decision, and worried for the escalating tensions.
