Newly opened Louvre Abu Dhabi a ‘bridge between civilizations’

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — More than a decade in the making, the Louvre Abu Dhabi opened its doors on Wednesday, winning praise from visiting French President Emmanuel Macron as a “bridge between civilizations” and religions.

On his first official visit to the Middle East, Macron and his wife Brigitte were greeted at the museum by Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed and Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashed al-Maktoum.

Macron, who is also scheduled to hold talks with Emirati officials, toured the 12-gallery museum — the first to carry the famed Louvre brand outside France — shortly after touching down in Abu Dhabi, along with the heads of state of Morocco and Afghanistan.

The new museum was a “bridge between civilizations”, he said at the opening. “Those who seek to say that Islam is the destruction of other religions are liars.”

Macron said the museum and its artworks from Europe, Africa and Asia were proof that “our religions, our civilizations are linked”.

The opening comes a decade after France and the United Arab Emirates agreed to a 30-year partnership initially reported to be worth $1.1 billion, including nearly half a billion dollars for the rights to the Louvre brand alone.

The museum is the first of three to open on Saadiyat Island, where the UAE plans to launch the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, designed by Frank Gehry, and Norman Foster’s Zayed National Museum.

Some 5 percent of the museum, which will open to the public on Saturday, is dedicated to contemporary and modern art but the main focus is on world history and religions.

The museum expects to welcome around 5,000 visitors in the first few days, according to Mohammed al-Mubarak, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Culture and Tourism Authority.

“Because this is an international museum, we’re expecting visitors from around the world,” Mubarak said during a media tour ahead of Wednesday’s inauguration ceremony.

“So a museum visitor from China will find something that speaks to her, to her history. A visitor from India will find the same.”

LUDOVIC MARIN / REUTERS French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte look at a piece of art as they visit the Louvre Abu Dhabi Museum in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Wednesday.