Our embassy left no stone unturned for the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum

King Philippe and Prime Minister Bart De Wever attended the opening of the majestic Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo. To ensure everything ran smoothly, our embassy in Egypt spent months preparing a detailed plan with military precision. Here is a look behind the scenes.

It likely did not go unnoticed: on 1 November 2025, the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) opened its doors in Cairo. And ‘Grand’ is no exaggeration. Covering 491,000 m² – nearly 5 hectares – it is twice the size of the Louvre. It houses 100,000 artefacts, with 20,000 on display at any given time. Among them are all 5,300 original objects found in Tutankhamun’s tomb.
 

Belgium makes its mark: BESIX and Dirty Monitor

The GEM features some distinctly Belgian elements. The Belgian company BESIX took on the highly complex construction, together with the Egyptian firm Orascom. Reportedly, challenging architectural projects are their speciality. BESIX also built the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the world’s tallest skyscraper at 828 metres.

The spectacular light show at the opening – visible from far and wide – was right up the street of Dirty Monitor from Charleroi. They are all about digital, colourful tours de force. Previously, they illuminated the immense statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro in Brazilian and Belgian colours.

King Philippe and Prime Minister De Wever in attendance

King Philippe and Prime Minister Bart De Wever attended the opening. The King took the opportunity to visit an excavation site in Saqqara, where Belgian academics are actively engaged. He also met with the Grand Imam of the Al-Azhar Mosque, a highly influential and conciliatory figure within Islam. Even a personal tour of the GEM was on the agenda.

These are all things we could learn about in the press or on social media. But how does it all come together? Who organises it all? It turns out to be our embassy in Cairo. Behind all those beautiful images is a team that spent months establishing contacts and preparing detailed plans.

Our embassy also played a role in the selection of BESIX and Dirty Monitor. “When a government launches a prestigious project through a public tender, we pass that information on,” explains Bart De Groof, Belgian ambassador to Egypt. “Of course, in cooperation with the regional trade agencies.”
 

Teamwork, teamwork, and teamwork

But the lion’s share of the work went into preparing for the visit of the dignitaries. “The Egyptian government had already indicated – including to the Palace – that they would appreciate it if some dignitaries could attend the opening,” says De Groof. “In the meantime, we also sounded out interest from the Belgian side. In the end, the King expressed interest in attending, along with Prime Minister De Wever and his wife.”

In this case, the opening was postponed several times. De Groof: “We had the Arab Spring in 2011–2013, followed by COVID. More recently, Egypt found it inappropriate to celebrate while Gaza was in flames. Eventually, they settled on a date: 1 November. That is when it is time for us to spring into action: to draw up an extremely meticulous plan or script covering everything that needs to be done over the course of 1.5 to 2 months to ensure the visit on day X goes smoothly.”

What does it involve? “First and foremost, I want to emphasise that three things are important,” says De Groof. “Teamwork, teamwork, and teamwork. Only with a well-oiled team – our task force – could we manage it. Do not forget that, at the same time, our day-to-day work continues unabated. For instance, on the eve of the visit, a fire broke out on a cruise ship on the Nile. There were 30 Belgians on board. Fortunately, there were no casualties, but many had lost their passports and similar documents. That meant a lot of consular work for us.”
 

Drawing up a programme down to the last detail

Preparing a visit by dignitaries requires extensive consultation. “For example, we have to notify the Egyptian authorities, such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the President’s office. We also held frequent Teams meetings with our Federal Public Service, the Palace, and the ministerial cabinets.”

Once the delegations are confirmed, our embassy draws up a programme. “That is quite a challenge. We make a series of proposals, always mindful of their feasibility. From these, the Palace and the Prime Minister make their choice. For the Palace, we suggested visits to Saqqara and the Al-Azhar Mosque, among other things.”

Once the choice is made, it is time to work out all the practical details. “Which hotels are available and at what prices? How can we organise the arrival at the airport? For every visit, we also need to arrange everything down to the smallest detail.”

Luncheon and exhibition at the residence

Our colleagues hosted a luncheon for the King at the ambassador’s residence with several leading Egyptologists. “There’s a lot involved in that too — planning the menu, tasting it in advance, deciding who to invite, thinking about possible conversation topics, and getting the Palace’s approval.”

Especially for the occasion, the colleagues had organised a small exhibition at the residence, showcasing photos of Queen Elisabeth’s visits to Egypt. King Philippe’s great-grandmother even witnessed the official opening of Tutankhamun’s tomb. The royal family’s fascination with ancient Egypt stretches back many generations.

Here there is a very important, but sometimes forgotten role for the spouses of our diplomats. They are selflessly responsible for the perfect organization of receptions, with great personal commitment.
 

Content, press, and security not to be forgotten

In addition to practical matters, our embassy also worked on the content of the visit. “Who will they meet? What topics of conversation might come up? Each time, we prepare a dossier on this together with the Palace and the Prime Minister’s Chancellery.”

Meanwhile, colleagues from the trade section contacted the companies BESIX and Dirty Monitor. During the visit, they had the opportunity to inform the King about their work.

The communication aspects are also discussed. "How do we put the visit in the spotlight on social media? How can the Belgian press cover the event? Which press will come along? Together with the Palace, we provide the necessary accreditations, a separate press programme, on-site guidance, striking visual material, substantive input, and so on."

In addition, the team of the defence attaché drew up a comprehensive transport plan that carefully mapped out all the logistical elements of the visit. The military colleagues also provided the necessary cooperation with the security officer of the Palace and the local authorities. This made it possible to carry out the visit smoothly and safely.

But that is not all. A few days before the actual visit, a team from the Palace came over to go through everything in detail and decide about it. “It is really like a dress rehearsal. We almost literally act out the scenario: the arrival at the airport, the visit to the mosque…”

A lot of flexibility is needed

During the visit itself, a great deal of flexibility is required. “You may have worked out a step-by-step plan with military precision, but unforeseen events will always occur. Someone loses their luggage; a visitor goes left instead of right… We have to keep adjusting and improvising. But to the outside world, it looks like everything went off without a hitch."

After the visit, there is the follow-up. “Which media covered it? What can we do better next time? And most importantly, warmly thank the team for a job well done!”
 

Return on investment

The Grand Egyptian Museum has finally become a reality and is now open to the public. It took a hefty investment – over 1 billion dollars – but the result is unique. The Egyptian people are generally proud of this achievement. After all, Egypt was the cradle of an extraordinarily fascinating culture that we still look up to with awe today.

The Egyptian government is also counting on a significant return on investment. It hopes to double the number of tourists within three years to 30 million annually. Foreign visitors will pay significantly more for a ticket to the GEM than Egyptians, around 30 to 40 dollars. This should generate substantial revenue.
 

A shrine for the future

The Grand Egyptian Museum sits right beside the three pyramids, including the Pyramid of Khufu, over 4,000 years old and the last surviving wonder of the ancient world. Inside the museum, you can explore some of the most impressive artefacts, such as the golden mask of Tutankhamun and the majestic 43-metre-long solar barque of King Khufu. The GEM serves as a shrine that makes one of humanity’s most intriguing cultures accessible to everyone and safeguards it for the future.