Liverpool did itself proud on national TV last night when it hosted the reworked story of the Nativity.
I was one of the thousands who put on our thermals and stood in William Brown Street so I can't wait to watch it on the TV next weekend to see how it came out on the small screen.
One thing I know is that the crowds looked fanstastic and made a really good impression with their cheering, singing and of course booing Herod(ia).
People started gathering from just after 6pm and by the time the event started at 8pm, William Brown Street was packed.
It was such an impressive sight.
I was standing with the likes of the Bishop of Liverpool and the Nativity's writer Mark Davies Markham. If you enjoyed the nativity, look out for Erics the Musical at the Playhouse/Everyman next year which Mark has also penned.
I thought everyone involved was very good, but I particularly enjoyed the understated performance Drew Schofield who played the guitar and sang Imagine outside St Nick's, and Jenny Ellison was a sweet silver-clad angel.
But I didn't envy the Phil playing for an hour with freezing fingers.
We roared, we hissed, we laughed, we sang All You Need is Love and then we went for a cup of hot chocolate and a mince pie to warm up again.
Some people were describing the event as the start of Capital of Culture, but Phil Redmond was adamant that "nobody launches Capital of Culture except Scousers" and described the evening to me as the "prelude for 2008."
That is now only two weeks away.
Can you believe it?
