Egypt opens grand museum

EGYPT officially opened at the weekend the Grand Egyptian Museum, a long-awaited, billion-dollar showcase of pharaonic grandeur that Cairo hopes will revive tourism and boost its battered economy.

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A man walks through the grounds of the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) as lasers light up the sky during the museum's opening ceremony in Giza, on the southwestern outskirts of the capital Cairo.

(AFP)

"Today, as we celebrate together the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum, we are writing a new chapter in the history of the present and the future," Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi told a gathering of dignitaries, sitting in the museum's square.

Spanning half a million square metres, the museum houses around 100 000 artefacts - half of them on display - dating back more than six millennia.

The audience at the opening watched a display of lights and music, with the pyramids towering in front of them.

Dozens of performers dressed in elaborate Pharaonic costumes played traditional tunes as a laser show depicting pharaohs and fireworks lit up the night sky above the museum.

On giant screens above, scenes from celebrations in Tokyo and Rio de Janeiro played out against the backdrop of Egypt's ancient monuments.