Thousands of people converged on the River Tyne yesterday to be among the first to tramp over the £22m Gateshead Millennium Bridge.

For those who may not have been sufficiently in awe of its graceful arch, a commentator reeled off its impressive statistics, including its weight of more than 850 tonnes, with enough steel to make 64 double-decker buses.

A procession of dignitaries crossed from Gateshead to Newcastle, where they met their counterparts and brought them back across, while three millennium babies were there to add to the scene.

Newcastle council leader Tony Flynn said: "It was tremendous. And it didn't wobble at all.

"It is a great day for the whole of the region and symbolises the coming together of the communities of Newcastle and Gateshead, and consolidates our partnership in bidding for European Capital of Culture award in 2008."

Gateshead council leader George Gill said: "This was all worth waiting for. Without the Millennium Bridge, the development of the Baltic mill and the music centre would not have worked. This will open a mile-long promenade along both quaysides."

And still the queue grew - with lines of people stretching up to 800 yards along the Newcastle side - as the bridge demonstrated its famous "Blinking Eye" tilt.

On hand to savour the moment was Jim Eyre, a senior partner of Wilkinson Eyre Architects, who was among those who conceived the bridge.

Mr Eyre said: "It is fantastic to see it open like this and to see people walking across.

"For five years, since we came up with the concept, we have strived for this moment. It is one thing to work with computer models, but there is no substitute for seeing the real thing."

And then they came in a long solid column . . . patient pedestrians snapping away with cameras and enthusing to television reporters searching for quotable quotes.

Then followed the unmistakable wolf whistles of construction workers from scaffolding on the Baltic mill.

But, no doubt on this occasion, they were only commenting on the sexy curves of the bridge.

* A £46m project is transforming the Baltic Flour Mill into a major international centre for contemporary art, which will open next March, while the £70m Music Centre Gateshead under construction will provide world-class music facilities, including a concert hall.