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Nour El-Tigani – Egyptianstreets
The King Tutankhamun exhibition at Paris’s Grande Halle La Villette broke the record as the most visited cultural event this year, with a turnout of more than 1.37 million visitors, according to Egypt’s Ambassador to Paris and its permanent representative to UNESCO, Ehab Badawi.
Badawi added that the temporary exhibition has had the highest number of visitors in history of organised events in France, even though the main piece, the mask of Tutankhamun, is not on display.
A exhibition was also the most visited in 1967, when it was on display at the Petit Palais, with 1.24 million people attending.
The exhibition is believed to have had a positive impact on French tourist influx into Egypt, which, as records show, has seen a marked increase over the last period.
The Tutankhamun exhibits will be on display until September 22nd, featuring 150 artefacts that belonged to the king; 60 of which had never left Egypt before and will be permanently placed at the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) after the tour.
Egypt’s Minister of Antiquities Khaled Anani inaugurated the exhibition, titled Tutankhamun: Treasures of the Pharaoh, last March.
Paris is the second stop for the touring exhibition, after Los Angeles. Treasures of the Pharaoh will be displayed in other major cities across the world. London will be its next stop; where it is due to open next November at the Saatchi Gallery.
