The Prime Minister Tony Blair promised that the Millennium Dome would be "a celebration of all that is best in Britain today".
But disastrous visitor figures, a series of emergency rescues running into hundreds of millions of pounds of public money and numerous sackings and resignations have turned that dream into a nightmare.
The National Audit Office has published its much-awaited report on the dome. It's highly critical of the financial management of the attraction. You can . (www.nao.gov.uk/publications/vfmsublist/vfm_cul.htm)
Today has broken many of the major stories in the dome saga. Here we present a selection of those reports.
In June one of the dome's key planners Ben Evans broke his silence to answer widespread criticism of the quality of the attractions in the 12 zones. In an exclusive interview, Evans - son of Education Minister Baroness Blackstone - told Today's Sanchia Berg: "We have been accused of having low standards and pandering to the lowest common denominator, but I don't apologise for that at all."
Later that month as public concern about the costs of the dome grew Sanchia Berg spoke to leading figures in the visitor attraction industry. One expert said the dome represented a "colossal shortfall in value for money".
In another exclusive Today's Andrew Hosken revealed that the Millennium Commission received two reports warning of problems with the dome before the project was approved by the government.
As accountants continued to inspect the dome's books, Sanchia Berg reported how dome director Claire Sampson had an affair with designer Tim Pyne, who was awarded contracts for 4 of the 12 zones.
Displeased by "Today's" coverage of the Dome, Dome staff threatened to remove pictures of Today's presenters from its walls.
