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THE DOME TIMETABLE ON NEW YEAR'S EVE

Friday 05 November 1999 00:02 GMT
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7pm

Guests will be given champagne and canapes and time to explore the 14 zones. The 10,000 present will include 2,500 "ordinary" people, 3,000 sponsors, and 700 dignitaries.

10pm

Tony Blair and his family will arrive. The Queen will travel down the Thames on the Millennium of Peace. As the Queen crosses the meridian line there will be a 21-gun salute from HMS Westminster.

11pm

Pictures of the Millennium dawn breaking in Northern Europe will be broadcast on giant screens and the Archbishop of Canterbury will read the Lord's Prayer. There will be a orchestral concert directed by Paul Daniel, a choir of 400, and Jools Holland.

11.45pm

The Queen will officially open the Dome, setting in motion an "awe- inspiring sequence of events".

11.55pm

A choral rendition of "A New Beginning", by John Tavener.

Midnight

The song ends with a child's solo blending into the chimes of Big Ben. After a pause, a rendition of "Auld Lang Syne". The central arena will then "explode into life" with 500 performers in a show.

12.30am

The evening will end with a new arrangement of the National Anthem before the Queen leads guests and performers out of the arena.

1.30am

Guests will start to leave.

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