International royals and celebrities attend glittering opening ceremony of Grand Egyptian Museum

The Grand Egyptian Museum has officially opened. To mark the momentous cultural occasion, royals and dignitaries from around the world flew into Cairo.

Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, attended the ceremony on behalf of President Sheikh Mohamed.

Also in attendance were several members of regional royal families, including Queen Rania of Jordan, who was joined by daughter Princess Salma; Oman’s Crown Prince Theyazin bin Haitham; Crown Prince of Bahrain, Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa; and Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Culture, Prince Badr bin Abdullah.

The inauguration was held in the presence of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, who greeted dignitaries with his wife, Entissar Amer El Sisi.

President El Sisi hailed the museum as opening a “new chapter” for the nation. Egypt was “writing a new chapter in the story of this ancient nation’s present and future,” he told the gathered crowd, which included 79 international delegations, including 39 heads of state and government.

The opening ceremony began with an official group photograph of the attending delegations, followed by a musical symphony, accompanied by a drone and light show that illustrated the architectural harmony between the museum’s design and the Pyramids of Giza.

The performances on the night included the debut of a piece written for the opening by Egyptian composer Hesham Nazih.

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International royal attendees included Japan’s Princess Akiko of Mikasa; Prince Albert of Monaco; Queen Mary of Denmark; King Philippe of Belgium; Spain’s King Felipe VI; Princess Sirivannavari of Thailand; and Prince Carlo of Bourbon-Two Sicilies and Princess Camilla, Duchess of Castro.

Rarely seen Egyptian actress Sherihan made an appearance on stage. She was joined by a troop of dancers, wearing uniform golden dresses and black wigs. Actors Ahmed Malek, Huda El Mufti, Ahmed Ghozzi, Salma Abudeif and Yasmina El Abd also took part in the ceremony. The actors all wore ancient pharaonic dress.