Dome to host UK return of Tutankhamun

A boy king who died more than 3,000 years ago has emerged as the latest unlikely saviour of the troubled Millennium Dome.

A boy king who died more than 3,000 years ago has emerged as the latest unlikely saviour of the troubled Millennium Dome.

Tutankhamun, whose fabulous treasures captivated nearly two million people when they were exhibited at the British Museum in the 1970s, is to return to London in 2007 for the first exhibition in the Dome after it is privatised.

The display will include 55 items from the world's most famous burial chamber not previously shown in Britain. They include the young pharaoh's gold crown, engraved dagger and a coffinette inlaid with gold and precious stones which contained the boy king's mummified organs. It will be the first time the Egyptian government, which has taken a hard line on preserving its ancient heritage, has allowed Tutankhamun's artefacts to leave the country in more than 20 years.

The pharaoh has fascinated the world ever since his tomb was discovered by Howard Carter in 1922. It is believed that he was murdered between the ages of 17 and 20 in 1330 BC. In 1972 eight-hour queues formed outside the British Museum to view the artefacts.

The exhibition, currently in Germany, is being brought to London by AEG Exhibitions whose parent company, AEG Europe, takes over the Dome as a commercially-run centre in two years time.