IT'S an awesome sight already familiar to millions across the world.

With its unmistakable 60,000 sq ft glass-fibre canvas roof and 100 metre-high steel supports, the Millennium Dome, dubbed a Beacon to the Future, looks likely to attract sell-out crowds every day in 2000.

But few have seen how things are taking shape inside the cavernous, kilometre-wide, £758 million structure. Now the Argus can reveal all with these stunning pictures taken inside the Dome.

Despite resembling a building site, many of the Dome's 14 themed zones are clearly visible, dwarfed by the sheer size of an interior big enough to house two Wembley Stadiums and wide enough to cover the Eiffel Tower lying on its side.

Jumbo

The statistics speak for themselves. The Dome, built on an 80,000 square metre slice of south London, is held up with 43 miles of high-strength steel cable. Its roof consists of 100,000 square metres of material and it is strong enough to support a Jumbo Jet. It's the largest building of its kind, with the capacity of 13 Albert Halls or 18,000 double-decker buses.

An army of expert builders and engineers are on course to finish the Dome's attractions by December 31.

Central to the experience are themed zones.

A huge model of a human, which has now taken shape but is smothered in protective plastic, will show how the body works from the inside.

The Living Island will explore the changing relationship between land and the ocean. Another much smaller dome will house the Home Planet, a future world.

Larger-than-life sculptures by cartoonist Gerald Scarfe will feature in the Self Portrait Zone, displaying all things British. Elsewhere the finishing touches are being made to other themes including the Mind, Talking and Rest, where people will be invited to "dive into a mental flotation tank".

There is a Learning Zone and a Money Zone, set to be a favourite thanks to jewellery giant De Beers. The firm plans to show off a 203-carat diamond, aptly called the Millennium Star.

As engineers work high in the walkways and gantries suspended from the roof, more than 50 metres below dancers are rehearsing for the opening performance. Massive arenas covering 20 acres will be home to three daily shows, including high-rise acrobatics by the Gideon Mendel flying performers and a colourful carnival-style theatre.

Comedian Rowan Atkinson is back as Edmund Blackadder for a big-screen show starring famous characters from the last 1,000 years. Filming has begun at Shepperton Studios in London, and the movie will be shown in Skyscape - the entertainment complex next door known as Baby Dome.

Among those making final preparations is a Sussex-based platform-hire company which has been working flat out since the summer, cleaning the roof from the inside. Working 50 metres above the ground, a 12-strong team from Facelift in Hickstead is working slowly across the roof, which is designed to last at least 25 years.

Facelift's site manager Derfel Owen, who helps guide his staff through the roof supports and cables, said: "It's very dangerous up there with live wires and cables dangling all over the place. But once aloft you forget the danger and just feel a tremendous sense of awe."

The Dome, which will open from 10am to 6pm every day in 2000, is next to the Blackwall Tunnel, built in the 1890s. One of the tunnel's air vents has been cleverly concealed in the structure.

When it closes at the end of next year there are proposals to use it as a sports and leisure complex or a convention centre.

Visit the Dome web site at www.dome2000.co.uk for more information.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.