Louvre museum in Abu Dhabi opens doors to public

The much-awaited and iconic Louvre Abu Dhabi museum opened its doors to the public on Saturday and euphoric residents made a beeline to get the first glimpse of the Jean Nouvel masterpiece. The museum opened its doors at 10 a.m. with its director Manuel Rabaté welcoming the guests. Visitors were greeted with a traditional Al Ayyalah dance performance.

Louvre museum in Abu Dhabi. Pic/PTI

According to officials, 1,000 extra tickets for the opening day were quickly snapped up online and tickets for the whole week were also sold out. "Just three more minutes to go, and I am inside Louvre," said Jordanian Manas Abdeljaber, who drove all the way from Dubai with her 67-year-old mother.

French expats Malika Zaarour and Carole Borie said they did not want to miss the Day 1 of Louvre. "We are from Bordeaux, and have never been to the Louvre in Paris. But we don't want to miss this one," said Borie. Four-day festivities will mark the public opening with an array of entertainment activities including headline acts by international artists, Gulf News reported.

American choreographer Lucinda Childs will give a surprise performance and Emirati oud maestro Faisal Al Saari will entertain visitors in the late afternoon. In the evening, French pyrotechnic wizards Groupe F will perform a lightshow that introduces the various collections of the museum.