Shoppers have descended on Edinburgh's new £1 billion giant shopping centre.
The revamped St James Quarter development has finally opened after five years of construction in the capital.
The mall is ready a year later than originally planned – a delay blamed on the coronavirus pandemic.
It will open in stages over the next 18 months and will include a cinema, luxury hotel, and flats inside.
This includes the ‘golden ribbon’, a huge walnut whip-style feature on top of the building, which is the 244-bedroom luxury Edinburgh hotel due to open later.
Major labels will be featured in the centre including Harrods, Zara, Victoria's Secret, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, Carvela, and Kurt Geiger.
It will also be home to Scottish stores for the first time like '& Other Stories' as well as Stradivarius, Bershka and Pull & Bear.
High street giants like Boots, Next, Zara, The Body Shop, H&M, and Superdrug will also be entering the shopping centre.
Lego is also planning to reveal an Edinburgh-themed mosaic.
As for the cinema, once the “boutique” five-screen Everyman opens, film lovers will be able to kick back in “indulgent” sofas to enjoy the latest releases.
Residents have also been promised “stunning views” from the 152 flats which will eventually be featured in The St James Quarter.
They will be known as ‘New Eidyn apartments from Native Land’ and some will cost more than £1m.
The 850,000 sq ft mall has taken an estimated 2.8 million working hours so far.
It was built using 17,378 tonnes of steel and 13 cranes have been used to reshape the capital’s skyline.
From today shoppers can enjoy the following stores which are now set up or business.
These include: Artisan Roast, Churros Baby, & Other Stories, Bank of Scotland, Bershka, Boots, Calvin Klein, Carvela, Dune, EE, Five Guys, Goldsmiths, Harajuki Kitchen, H&M, Hotel Chocolat, Iolla, JD Sport, John Lewis, Keihl’s, Krispy Kreme, Kurt Geiger, L’Occitane, Lane 7, Lego, Mac Man, Mango, Miele, Next, O2, Omega/Breitling, Pandora, Peloton, Pull & Bear, Rituals, Russell & Bromley, Salerno, Sky, Sook, Starbucks, Stradivarius, Superdrug, The Body Shop, The Perfume Shop, Three, Tommy Hilfiger, Tortilla, Zara.
Director of development Martin Perry said the reopening on Thursday was “just the beginning”.
He said: “The brands and experience that we have welcomed today demonstrate our commitment to delivering a curated destination for the people of Edinburgh.
“We are now looking forward to continuing on our journey to deliver a truly mixed-use destination of the future as we welcome more brands, leisure, and our new neighbours.”
