The work was commissioned for the official opening of the Suez Canal, celebrated on 16 November 1869 with an inaugural ceremony in Port Said. In the following days, 68 ships from every country in the world crossed the canal and arrived in Suez 4 days later. The composer, ever business-minded, wrote the piece for the 1869 summer concert season in Pavlovsk and conducted it for the first time at the Vauxhall Pavilion on 6 July at a benefit concert for the two brothers.