Culture

Grand Egyptian Museum Opens to Revive Tourism

Published

10 months ago

November 1, 2025

Grand Egyptian Museum opens near Giza Pyramids to revive Egypt’s tourism, showcasing Tutankhamun treasures and immersive exhibits

Grand Egyptian Museum has officially opened its doors in Cairo, marking a historic milestone for Egypt’s tourism sector and cultural heritage.

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The new $1 billion landmark, overlooking the Giza Pyramids, is expected to transform Egypt’s global tourism appeal and help revive an industry battered by years of political unrest, a pandemic, and regional instability.

Spanning an impressive 500,000 square metres, the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) will house tens of thousands of artefacts, including the complete collection of treasures from the boy-king Tutankhamun—many of which are being displayed publicly for the first time.

Designed as both a cultural showcase and an immersive visitor experience, the museum integrates virtual reality installations and interactive exhibitions to offer a modern approach to Egypt’s ancient history.

Officials hope the GEM will attract as many as 7 million additional visitors annually, boosting total tourist numbers to about 30 million by 2030.

Tourism, which is one of Egypt’s major sources of foreign currency, remains critical to stabilising the nation’s economy and funding essential imports such as fuel and wheat.

In 2024, Egypt recorded 15.7 million visitors who spent a record $15 billion, signalling strong recovery momentum. This comes after the sector’s collapse to just $3.8 billion in 2015/16 following the 2011 uprising.

For Egypt’s leadership, the Grand Egyptian Museum represents more than a new attraction—it is a symbol of renewal, resilience, and global ambition.

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With its world-class facilities, stunning architecture, and unmatched artefact collection, it is poised to become one of the most visited museums on the planet, redefining the country’s image and economic prospects.

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Culture

WAKE UP! Art Exhibition Returns for a Second Act

Published

2 weeks ago

August 27, 2026

Mariam Balogun

The contemporary art and photography exhibition “Wake Up!” is back again for a second edition.

Curated by Awele Onwordi, Wake Up! 2 exhibition pays homage to the Nigerian youth and burgeoning street culture which many of its contributing artists reference in their works.

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Titled “Young, Wild, Free”, the exhibition celebrates the creativity, resilience, freedom and cultural influence found in Nigerian youth.

Taking aim at societal issues and economic concerns, the exhibit reflects the youth and their refusal to compromise or bow despite all the challenges stacked against them while charting youth culture through art, music, fashion, skateboarding, photography and community.

The exhibition will be held, once again, at the Angel and Muse Gallery at 25 Sumbo Jibowu street off Ribadu Road off Awolowo Road in Ikoyi.

It will open on Saturday 5 September 2026 and will run until 11 September 2026
This second edition which focuses on celebrating, nurturing and exploring artistic practices rooted in youth and street culture will feature works from DENCITY and SUPERGLIDER HOUSE.

Exhibiting artists include Ajilore Kehinde – their work is deeply influenced by Nigerian street culture and works of other artists like Slawn, Peters Ejiro, etc, Chuka Onwordi – graphic designer who embodies themes of death, melancholy and beauty in his works, ZIDYEP – Abuja based creative whose works move between digital and physical spaces through art, graphic design and air brushing , Franklyn Okoye – graphic designer and artist whose works explore themes of identity and hyper-reality, Awele Onwordi – founder & curator of WAKE UP and multidisciplinary artist whose practice spans character art, creative logo design, album covers and more , Oluchi Kogolo – digital illustrator whose work explores street culture, personality and storytelling through a raw and playful visual style and Kozetuo Apeji – multidisciplinary artists who work explores experimental approaches to problem solving through both digital and traditional art forms.

Commenting on the exhibition in her curatorial statement, Awele noted that “despite economic instability, limited opportunities and socio-political challenges, Nigerian youth continue to shape culture through music, fashion, art, skateboarding, raves, photography and community.”

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Continuing and harping on the raison d’etre of the exhibition she said, “Young, Wild and Free exists to celebrate Nigerian youth while also creating a platform that supports and amplifies them.”