The formal opening of the New Acropolis Museum in Athens had been long-awaited. Now, the highly anticipated opening has scheduled to take place in September 2008. The gallery houses Parthenon marble on the top with a view of the actual Parthenon less than a mile away will also be unveiled, though many other displays will not be complete until 2009.

After discussions for several years, the museum finally decided how it was going to present the Parthenon marbles. The original marble will be displayed along the plaster casts of pieces that have been removed from Greece, but most of them remain present in London’s British Museum.

The construction of the Acropolis Museum has proved to be an extremely lengthy one as the first competition of architecture was launched in 1976 and the second one in 1979. The designs were unsatisfactory and the third construction plan in 1989 was canceled by the government. However, the fourth construction was held in 2000, won by Bernard Tschumi, an architect from New York. Many problems such as archaeological discoveries led to its delays in opening.

In the mean time, the owner of easyJet, a low-cost holiday and business airline, has started a marketing campaign in the UK calling the curators at the British Museum and New Acropolic Museum to engage in a constructive dialogues over Parthenon marbles. His position in the dispute over ownership has been made clear since he painted the quote Reunite the Parthenon Marbles’ on his latest cruise ship, something which can only happen in the Athens’ new museum.