King Tut show expected to draw 2 million

LONDON, July 7 (UPI) -- The new exhibit of treasures from King Tutankhamun's tomb at London's O2 domed stadium is expected to be the country's largest art show in nearly 50 years.

It was announced Friday that advance reservations for the Egyptian exhibit, which opens in November and runs for nine months, has already reached 180,000, The Telegraph reported.

Organizers already are calling the advance bookings "quite staggering." They expressed confidence the show will smash the current record of 1.7 million visitors set by the first Tutankhamun exhibition in 1972.

The exhibit will feature 120 artifacts, 50 from the Egyptian king's 3,500-year-old tomb and the rest from other pharaohs graves.

The treasures will come to London once they finish a 2 1/2-year tour of the United States.

The organizers also said although booking officially opens Sept. 12, the first two months already are virtually sold out.