91Èȱ¬

1355: A quick walk around the centre and there are queues at several shops, including Harvey Nicks. The question is, will anyone in the queue actually buy anything there?

Elsewhere, the top floor next to the restaurants, there are security guards sending people back if they're not going to eat.

It is very, very busy and there are a lot of bags being carried around by first day shoppers.

The centre's manager, Richard Belt, said on Points West "you only have to look around" when asked if Cabot Circus would beat the credit crunch.

It'll be interesting to see if this continues in the coming weeks and months.

We're all open so this is the end of the text commentary.

Plenty of you were down here with cameras so if you did take some good photos then please do send them in to bristol@bbc.co.uk

1315: Having a walk around and this place really is rammed to the rafters. Apparently when the Bull Ring opened in Birmingham they had 250,000 people through in the first day, and usually get that a week now.

One woman who stopped by where Points West are doing their interviews from said she was a little let down by the opening saying "they could have worn something a bit brighter".

1207: Canvasing a few quick views on the opening ceremony - the ranged from "wow" and "spectacular" to "choked". To be fair, it was spectacular, and most of the crowd did seem impressed.

1203: Okay, a few have opened now ... We're going to get some photos on the site so watch out for those shortly.

1201: Drumming ends and everyone looks a bit confused because the shops aren't open yet!

1200: Believe it or not, they're still drumming and the doors aren't open yet. It'll go down in history as one of the most over-the-top opening ceremonies for a shopping centre.

1158: Hurray - he's at the end of the list.

He finally declares Cabot Circus open and many of the crowd make a dive for the nearest shop.

1155: Thanks a bunch! The guy with the smoke machine next to us tries to choke us all by turning the machine on.

The circus master is going through the names of the shops opening as a woman on a high-rope flies past me with a pram in front of her. Bizarre.

1151: Applause for the roof dancers as drumming and dancing begin from the first floor balcony.

On the side of the lifts a worker (well, a trained performer) walks up vertically reading a paper.

Below us flags are unfurled as the assembled shoppers watch on.

1148: There are two people on top of the glass roof dancing now. They must be very brave.

The man holds the woman up with one arm 150ft up and we all hope down here the ropes are going to hold!!

1147: "Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Cabot Circus," says the circus master - which draws a hearty round of applause.

We'll have pics of this up on the site as soon as we can after midday ...

1145: Some drumming action going on to my right as the circus master (yes, a circus master) appears from a cherry picker!

1142: Someone behind me says "I had no idea it was going to be this busy", and boy was he right. People just seem to be coming from everywhere now. All three streets are packed full now at the front with, from what we can see, a steady march at the back.

1140: They've just let the public in. I would guess around 1,000, most of whom are pointing at the glass roof.

1135: We're waiting up for the opening ceremony now. The queue on Broadmead has got quite big and many of the VIPs are lining the top floor of Cabot Circus.

Most of the shop workers seem to be out and watching on ready for the rush just after midday.

Oh, and the PA has just kicked in again which means it's a bit noisy in here.

1120: A couple of emails from our readers:

Tim says: "I'm really looking forward to the opening of Cabot Circus. The residents of Bristol have been putting up with sub standard shopping for a City for some time. I'm pleased that from what I've seen it's not a dull, soulless shopping centre clone. It looks dramatic and interesting."

While Joan said, of our coverage so far: "In these perilous economic times they have done well to get two thirds of the shops ready on time. We should be delighting in this new initiative and looking forward rather than always being so downbeat."

Let us know what you think via bristol@bbc.co.uk

1110: One thing that did surprise me, while walking around Quakers Friars, was the water fountain in the middle of the square.

And that has led to a conversation surrounding whether Cabot Circus as a shopping centre is individual or not.

On one hand you've got surprises in the building itself with the sweeping glass roof and the new fountain, but there aren't many shocks in the shops here.

Is Harvey Nicks going to be enough to drag Bristol's shopping public away from The Mall? We'd love to hear what you think. Email us on bristol@bbc.co.uk

1105: A small, modest crowd has started to appear outside in Broadmead as people get reading for the opening in an hour.

Of course, you can follow everything online with us or you can flick Radio Bristol on from 11.30am to listen to Ben Prater describe the action.

Use the listen live facility here or tune to 94.9FM in the Bristol area.

1005: We've had a walk around here to get a feel for the new centre. Although the areas nearer the bottom of Cabot Circus are packed with shops, the top seems a slightly different story.

As you can see in this image, the new Glass Walk is a little empty. One side features high-tech firms, the other is a bit empty.

Elsewhere, rehearsals for the grand opening ceremony are under way and, boy, it's very, very loud!

If you're coming along make sure you look up!

0930: Remember, we're keen to hear your opinions on Cabot Circus - email bristol@bbc.co.uk

0925: Business correspondent Dave Harvey says: "Well, they seem to have done it. Last night there were still builders here wielding angle grinders, you couldn't get in without a hard hat. Ray Brown said it would go down to the wire, and he was right. But this morning, its all polishing, sweeping and fretting about window displays. There's a woman putting a silver cube in her fashion display. A man adjusts the tie on a mannequin.

"And a couple of guys sweep up the last remnants of grit outside a mobile phone shop. The high wire crew are sorting out their kit for the circus display at noon. After three years a building site, it finally looks like a place you might go shopping."

0900: We've just got hold of the launch plans in case you're thinking of coming down to watch. 11am until midday the launch procession goes through Broadmead followed by a launch ceremony from midday for ten minutes.

After that you'll find street theatre at The Circus, The Podium and Quaker's Friars square.

The first film to show at the new cinema will be How to Loose Friends and Alienate People, apparently.

There's also a close-down event from 7.45pm until 8pm.

0825: John Edwards from The Mall at Cribbs Causeway is here and says he has come to "wish them well". He added The Mall was part of a wider Bristol offering to attract shoppers. "We need to look at how Bristol does as a region," he says.

He added: "What we provide is different - we give customers a choice". But when pressed on parking charges (The Mall is free, whereas Cabot Circus charges) he again says The Mall offers choice.

Labour council leader Helen Holland says the city has "lived with the project" and that Bristol has been "missing out on economic growth".

0815: Just a note about what's going to happen here today. We're expecting the launch event at around midday and shops are due to open at 1210.

We're hearing from 91Èȱ¬ Radio Bristol that organisers are not sure exactly which shops will open until nearer midday with many contractors working overnight.

But most interesting is news that only 100 of the 140 shops will open today, says business correspondent Dave Harvey.

0740: Good morning. The web team is live at Cabot Circus on the third floor. We'll be here all morning monitoring developments from Bristol's new £500m shopping centre.

First impressions are that everything is mostly completed although I'm writing to the sounds of an angle grinder a few floors below.

The escalators have just been turned on and from my vantage point I can actually see several units which are not ready to open - including two on the bottom floor and one on the first floor which will eventually be Nationwide Building Society.

We're interested in hearing from you while we're down here - if you've got any questions or comments about the centre, good or bad, then email them in to bristol@bbc.co.uk and we'll try and publish a selection during the morning

We'll also have photos from the opening ceremony and from around Cabot Circus here later.