Antiquities Min., Hawass Inaugurate Tutankhamun Expo in London

In a huge ceremony attended by about 1000 guests from public figures, businessmen and stars of the British society, Egypt`s Minister of antiquities Khaled El-Anani, inaugurated King Tutankhamun Exhibition in London.

[caption id="attachment_88318" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Tutankhamun Exhibition in London[/caption]

The opening ceremony was attended by Dr. Zahi Hawass, Egypt's Ambassador to London Tariq Adel and Fiona Carnarvon, the eighth granddaughter of Lord Carnarvon, who was funding the excavations of the Howard Carter expedition that discovered the tomb of King Tutankhamun.

[caption id="attachment_88321" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Dr. Zahi Hawass at Tutankhamun Exhibition in London[/caption]

It was attended by a group of public figures, wealthy and community stars, including British MP Philip Hammond, well-known English businessman Francis, Robin Geffen Bowl, broadcaster and journalist Hugh Edward, television producer Sally Dwark, British musician Nick Rhodes, Tennessee Heather Weston actress Banaloba Wilton, and other accredited ambassadors and Egyptologists and representatives of many travel and tourism companies.

“The exhibition includes a very small collection of the young king`s treasures exist in Egypt. They numbered more than 5400 pieces. The exhibition is an attraction to encourage the British people and all peoples of the world to visit Egypt to see the rest of Tutankhamun`s treasures and learn about Egyptian civilization,” Anani said.

“The exhibition in London is a special event where the British people and King Tutankhamun have a special love story since 1922 when British archaeologist Howard Carter discovered the young king's tomb and treasures in the Valley of Kings in Luxor."

He added: “The young king came to London, bringing with him the rising sun and a message of love and peace from the Egyptian people to the British people.”

Anani went on saying: “According to statistics conducted by the organizers of the exhibition, as of the last hours before the official opening of the exhibition 285,000 tickets have been sold, a number exceeding the number of tickets sold before the official opening of the exhibition in its second stop in the French capital Paris, which achieved more than 1.4 million visitors.”

Anani called on all attendees to visit Egypt, which opens its arms to the British people after the resumption of direct flights between London and Sharm el-Sheikh.

He highlighted the Archaeological Museum of Sharm el-Sheikh, which will soon be opened by the Ministry of Antiquities to be a new tourist attraction in the city.

He pointed out that the Great Egyptian Museum will be opened soon, describing it as Egypt's gift to the world. He also pointed out the recent archaeological discoveries, revealing that a new archaeological discovery will be announced during the next few weeks.

London is the third stop of the exhibition of Tutankhamun after opening in its first and second stops in Los Angeles, USA, and Paris.

Tutankhamun came as a guest to London after the absence of more than a decade. The last exhibition of Tutankhamun in London was in 2007 and 1972, where more than 1.7 million people visited it.