WATCH: Building a Modern Legacy at the GEM

To operate the Grand Egyptian Museum is to shoulder a national dream. When the legacy you’re shaping sits on the same timeline as the Pyramids, the work becomes more than operations; it becomes identity. At the Grand Egyptian Museum, that modern legacy is now the lens through which we meet our past, and the framework through which the world meets us.

Merette Elsayed, CEO of Legacy Development and Management, Hassan Allam Holding’s subsidiary overseeing all visitor services and facilities at the GEM, is at the centre of this undertaking. And while the museum’s headline-making opening went viral around the globe, and its first days shattered attendance records, the experience itself is built behind the scenes: by teams refining how visitors move through space, how stories unfold, and how a ticket becomes the first step into 7,000 years of history.

A major part of the mandate now is reimagining how history is told. Instead of rehearsing dynasties and dates, the GEM is shaping more intuitive, human-centred storytelling, audio guides that feel cinematic, thematic tours that go beyond chronology, and digital layers that make ancient worlds legible for 2025 eyes. With Egypt’s heritage as the anchor, the goal is clear: keep visitors engaged, curious, and coming back.

The GEM is also setting a new benchmark globally by operating as one of the few large museums designed to be financially self-sustaining (without state funding). That brings another layer of creativity, programming, partnerships, and experiences that honour the museum’s identity while ensuring it thrives. The GEM is vast, complex, and unprecedented. And in guiding it, Legacy is helping define how Egypt presents its past to the world, and how a museum can build a future legacy of its own.

Watch the interview for the full story: