Official representatives from Louvre Abu Dhabi and its key French partners came together on Friday at Musee du Louvre in Paris to celebrate the universal museum ahead of its public opening on 11th November in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

In attendance were Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of the Department of Culture and Tourism and Member of the Executive Council; Saif Saeed Ghobash, Director-General of the Department of Culture and Tourism; Manuel Rabate, Director of Louvre Abu Dhabi; Jean-Luc Martinez, President-Director of the Louvre Museum and Chairman of the Scientific Board of Agence France-Museums; Jean Nouvel, the architect of Louvre Abu Dhabi; Marc Ladreit de Lacharriere, President of Agence France-Museums; and Jean-Francois Charnier, Scientific-Director of Agence France-Museums.

Louvre Abu Dhabi's partner institutions include Musee du Louvre, Centre Pompidou, Musee d' Orsay and Musee de l Orangerie, Bibliotheque Nationale de France, Musee du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac, Reunion des Musees Nationaux et du Grand Palais, Chateau de Versailles, Musee National des Arts Asiatiques-Guimet, Musee de Cluny, Ecole du Louvre, Musee Rodin, Domaine National de Chambord, Musee des Arts Decoratifs de Paris, Cite de la Ceramique - Sevres & Limoges, Musee d Archeologie nationale - Saint-Germain en Laye, Cheteau de Fontainebleau, and OPPIC (Operateur du patrimoine et des projets immobiliers de la culture).

Louvre Abu Dhabi is an independent institution, which was born out of an intergovernmental agreement between Abu Dhabi and France in 2007. The agreement includes using Musee du Louvre s name for 30 years and 6 months, temporary exhibitions for 15 years, and loans of artworks for 10 years.

The museum s total developed area is 97,000 square metres and forms a museum city surrounded by water. Visitors can walk the promenade overlooking the sea beneath the museum s 180-metre dome, experiencing the enchanting rain of light, a cinematic geometric effect inspired by the shadows of overlapping palm trees in the UAE s oases.

On display will be Louvre Abu Dhabi s important collection of artworks, artefacts and loans. These span the entirety of human existence from prehistorical objects to commissioned contemporary artworks, highlighting universal themes and ideas and marking a departure from traditional museography that is often separated according to the origin. In addition to the galleries, the museum will include exhibitions, a children s museum, a restaurant, a boutique and a caf?.