On the first of November 2025, the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) was officially opened in Giza, housing the most extensive collection of antiquities from ancient Egypt. The opening ceremony was attended by the Egyptian president, who received many heads of state and heads of government: it is estimated that 79 official delegations attended the ceremony. An occasion long-awaited, the opening ceremony came after several delays due to many geopolitical events, the last one being the short-lived war between Iran and Israel in June 2025.
For the current administration, the museum is a true statement that the “GEM” carries many opportunities.
The Egyptian government paid close attention to the GEM’s opening and invested heavily in it for several reasons. The Egyptian government granted TikTok exclusive rights to air the event live, anticipating high viewership on the platform. According to Egypt Independent, “one billion viewers watched Grand Egyptian Museum’s opening.” This visibility is intended to attract a large number of visitors to the GEM to help meet Egypt’s vision in 2030 to raise the number of tourists to 30 million per year from the current 17.5 million.
First, in domestic politics, the GEM is an opportunity to rally Egyptians around their flag and boost nationalism by heightening sentiment about “Egyptian civilization”. In other words, the current administration has been using every possible means to underscore that Egyptians have a unique and ancient identity that dates back to their ancestors from the Pharaohs. In fact, since 2021, scholars such as Mohamed Soliman have argued that the government rose this sense of civilization-state, a term coined by Bruno Macaes, which centers on specific nations, politics, and governance style based on history and culture, like India and China.
It is not the first time this administration has used the concept of civilization-state. Evidence to showcase that was in 2021 with the Mummies’ Golden Parade, a spectacular display of the movement of 22 mummies from the old Egyptian Museum to the Museum of Civilization (i.e., the GEM). The event was viewed worldwide, and President Sisi was seen receiving the Kings’ and queens’ mummies himself at their new resting place to show that the new “grandson” was continuing the journey of his “grandparents”.
On both occasions, the Golden Parade in 2021 and the opening of the GEM in 2025, the government declared a public holiday, allowing the nation to watch the event on a live broadcast. Arguably, this would increase their sense of belonging to the ancient civilization, which was marginalized by the previous administration under Morsi’s government in 2012. It is worth noting that many Egyptians used AI to change their profile pictures to show them wearing Pharaonic-style clothing (as the author of this text did).
Second, domestically, the current government is using this event to improve its image, which was badly damaged by a high inflation rate (which reached 20.4% in 2025), frequent currency devaluations, and increased fuel prices following the IMF’s instructions. Nevertheless, the laws passed in June 2025 in Parliament angered many people, as they were enacted at the government’s direction, such as amendments to old rent laws.
Third, the GEM is also viewed by the Egyptian government as a rescue operation for its struggling economy. With its declining revenues from foreign currency, it could help improve the economy after a couple of years of stagnation because of the low foreign currency generated by the Suez Canal as a result of Houthi attacks on ships in solidarity with the people of Gaza. It is worth noting that the first three days after the GEM’s opening generated an income of 78 million EGP, and by Friday, the 7th of November 2025, the Museum had welcomed 30 million visitors, reaching its full capacity.
Fourth, at the foreign policy level, Egypt, through the opening of the GEM, is trying to project an image of a stable and peaceful country. Egypt is welcoming visitors from all over the world, working on reforms to meet IMF requirements, and building greater trust with the rest of the world under the current administration, which was unwelcomed by the Western world in 2013.
Finally, also in terms of foreign policy, the opening ceremony further crowns Egypt’s soft power. A few weeks before the GEM’s opening, Egypt mediated a truce deal between Israel and Hamas through the peace conference held in Sharm El Sheikh, attended by world leaders, including Trump, Starmer, Meloney, Macron, and Erdogan. In addition, UNESCO elected an Egyptian Director, Dr Khaled El Enany, who is a key position for enhancing education and culture globally. These messages emphasize that Egypt is pivotal and visible both regionally and globally, and that its soft power legacy remains intact.
To conclude, the GEM is a massive opportunity for Egypt’s economy, cultural heritage, people, and the ruling regime.
