The celebration was led by Egyptian Ambassador to Greece Omar Amer Youssef and his spouse, Randa Elkaraksy.
Attendees included Defence Attaché Staff Colonel Amr Mohamed Rashad and his wife Hadeer Mongi; Deputy Defence Attaché Navy Lieutenant Commander Mohab Abdel Ghany and his wife Rania Abdel-Ghany; Deputy Chief of Mission Counsellor Ahmed El-Ghoul; and Consul of Egypt in Greece George Kelliny.
Nikitas Kaklamanis, the president of the Hellenic Parliament, attended as Guest of Honour, alongside Manal Ali, director of the Egyptian Cultural Centre in Athens, and Dimitris Avramopoulos, former Greek minister of foreign affairs.
Also present were the Ambassador of Japan to Greece, Koichi Ito; the Ambassador of Indonesia to Greece, Bebeb Djundjunan; the Ambassador of Pakistan to Greece, Aamar Qureshi; Ehab Alaa, station manager at EgyptAir's Athens Airport; Hala Hamdan, district manager of EgyptAir Greece; and renowned Egyptian TV presenter Basma Wahba.
“It is with heartfelt joy that I welcome you this evening here at the Acropolis Museum, a place where history breathes and where the brilliance of Greek civilization continues to illuminate the world,” Ambassador Youssef said in his opening remarks.
“To stand here among friends, united by our admiration for the past and our hope for the future, is truly an honour. This evening holds special meaning,” he continued.
“As we gather beneath the serene glow of the Acropolis, our hearts also turn southward to the Giza Plateau, where Egypt celebrates the inauguration of the Grand Egyptian Museum, a new home for humanity's shared heritage and a dream two decades in the making,” he added.
The ambassador described the symbolism of the occasion as profound, noting that “between the Acropolis and the Pyramids, two of humanity’s greatest creations, there has always been a silent dialogue, a conversation carried across the Mediterranean for millennia, linking Athens and Cairo, the Parthenon and the Sphinx, philosophy and faith, reason and wonder.”
Speaking about the museum, Youssef said the GEM stands beside the Great Pyramids as the largest archaeological museum in the world, housing tens of thousands of artefacts, including for the first time the complete treasures of King Tutankhamun, displayed together in one place.
“This monumental project, nearly twenty years in the making and realized through an investment of about one billion US dollars, has brought together the dedication of countless Egyptian and international experts, including our partners at the Japan International Cooperation Agency,” he noted.
He described the GEM as a bridge “between the ancient and the modern, between memory and imagination.” Its architecture, inspired by the geometry of the Pyramids, reflects “the eternal dialogue between stone and light, heritage and innovation.”
“It invites all who visit not only to look back at history but to feel its living presence and enduring lessons,” he said.
“Between the Nile and the Aegean, between the Pyramids and the Acropolis, flows a shared current of knowledge, friendship, and faith in the human spirit,” he added, emphasizing that the dialogue between the two civilizations “has never ceased; it renews itself with each generation that dares to dream and to build.”
Addressing President Kaklamanis, he said, “Your presence here this evening as the Guest of Honour is a source of great pride. It reflects not only the depth of friendship between Egypt and Greece but also our shared conviction that culture remains the surest path to understanding, peace, and progress.”
The ambassador expressed his appreciation to all partners whose cooperation made the evening possible, including Minister of Tourism Olga Kefalogianni for her continued support, the Acropolis Museum for hosting the event, EgyptAir for its partnership, the Copelouzos Group for its cooperation, and Oath Company for its creative contributions.
“As we now witness the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum, let us celebrate not only a magnificent achievement for Egypt but a milestone for humanity, a reminder that our ancient past continues to speak to our common future,” he concluded.
In his address, President of the Hellenic Parliament Nikitas Kaklamanis said,
“As President of the Hellenic Parliament, I have the privilege and honour to participate tonight in the official opening ceremony of the Grand Egyptian Museum — addressing you from one of our own gemstones, the Acropolis Museum, beside its sacred rock.”
“All of us gathered here tonight, together with Osiris-Dionysus the Time Lord, the Sphinx of the Acropolis, and the Caryatids of the Erechtheion, send our most heartfelt wishes for the Great Egyptian Museum,” he said.
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