The Vision Becomes Reality

When it comes to first nights, they don’t get much bigger than the 17th of December 2004 at The Sage Gateshead.

On such an occasion, any musician could be excused for feeling a touch of first night nerves. After all, it was the opening of one of the most exciting new music projects in the UK and the culmination of a decade’s worth of planning and work.

Instead of a gala black tie concert, the event was marked by a weekend of free performance and participation events so as many people as possible could take part.

Indeed, The Sage Gateshead had already been involved in working with schools and community organisations to encourage people to come and visit the building.

A fanfare sounded as The Sage Gateshead opened its doors at 5pm on Friday evening and its first visitors had the chance to see the spectacular interior. Over 1,000 visitors came in the first hour alone and over the whole weekend, 15,000 people came to see the building.

The weekend's events were divided into three-hour slots, including workshops and 40 minute sessions of music. A formula which obviously appealed, as by Saturday, the box office had reported a phenomenal response with tickets for most events selling out. Such an informal, participatory opening was perfect for a building designed to make access to the best in music as natural an experience as calling into the pub.

Throughout 2005, musicians from the region, around the country and from around the world all performed here with over 400 performances taking place.

The Sage Gateshead has already created around 800 jobs and more than 600,000 people are expected to use the building every year. The first night was literally just the beginning. The first night of a whole new musical world in Gateshead.