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. AFP
Fireworks lit up the night sky over Giza as orchestras performed across the desert plateau and camera crews from every continent captured the moment Egypt unveiled what officials described as “a civilization in motion.”
More than 450 correspondents from 180 outlets covered the event live, while social media was flooded with images of pharaonic gold, Tutankhamun’s treasures, and the museum’s 50-metre-tall glass façade shimmering in the desert light.
Within hours, Egypt’s cultural milestone became a global media sensation.
A global media moment
Egypt’s State Information Service said 70 of the world’s largest television networks and over 180 outlets from every continent broadcast the inauguration, describing it as “a new cultural sunrise.”
Europe led coverage with 70 outlets, followed by Asia with 30 and the Americas with 24, making it arguably the most widely covered museum opening in modern history.
Egypt offered free live feeds, established a multilingual press centre near the pyramids, and coordinated with embassies to ensure real-time international transmission.
Front pages and primetime screens
The GEM’s opening dominated global headlines.
The Guardian hailed Egypt’s “$1 billion temple of heritage,” while Le Monde called it “the cornerstone of Egypt’s tourism diplomacy.” El País dubbed it “the fourth pyramid of Giza.”
Reuters, AP, and AFP dispatched wire stories syndicated worldwide.
Germany’s ZDF and Die Welt broadcast live from the plateau, and Latin American networks mirrored the coverage from Buenos Aires to Mexico City.
In Asia, Japan’s NHK and The Japan Times described the museum as a joint cultural victory, reflecting Japan’s role in its construction and funding. India’s NDTV highlighted the full unveiling of Tutankhamun’s collection for the first time.
Across North America, CNN and ABC News led primetime coverage with sweeping visuals of the museum’s vast atrium, while broadcasters from Mexico’s Televisa to Denmark’s DR carried the feed to audiences in over 100 countries, with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) relaying the feed to 57 member states.
A digital celebration
As the ceremony unfolded, the hashtags #GrandEgyptianMuseum and #GEM2025 trended worldwide.
Travel bloggers, museum curators, and influencers shared dazzling clips of the museum’s façade and the pharaonic drone show above the Giza Plateau.
Official accounts joined the celebration: Egypt's Ministry of Tourism tweeted in five languages; The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) posted congratulations; and Queen Rania of Jordan shared photos from the event on her verified Instagram page (instagram.com/queenrania), writing: "Honored to attend the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum—a magnificent new home for humanity's shared heritage. Congratulations to the people of Egypt on this moment of pride."
The US Embassy in Cairo posted a celebratory message on X (formerly Twitter):
Other diplomatic missions followed suit. The Swiss Embassy in Cairo spotlighted its support for the museum's sustainability features, "A new wonder of the world goes green! As the Grand Egyptian Museum prepares for its opening, Switzerland is proud to have supported its sustainability efforts."
Heads of state also joined the chorus.
Albania's President Bajram Begaj wrote:
Meanwhile, TikTok, the official event partner, hosted live streams and themed content that drew massive engagement.
The museum's verified account (@grandegyptianmuseum) became a viral sensation, with videos, including one that exceeded 168 million views and garnered over 500,000 likes.
Several of the museum's top-performing clips, including a behind-the-scenes look at the Tutankhamun gallery (3.7 million views) and a panoramic atrium walk-through (2.9 million views), were released before the opening, driving global anticipation.
Egypt's new cultural frontier
By the time the fireworks faded, the GEM had touched audiences that few museums ever reach. Families in Stockholm, students in Buenos Aires, and tourists in Seoul shared a moment of wonder that transcended borders.
As Egypt aims to attract five million annual visitors to the museum, the global media wave it unleashed may prove as enduring as the treasures within.
For one unforgettable night, Giza's desert plateau became the centre of the world, and millions were watching
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