Do you remember the time a giant spider walked the streets of Liverpool?
2008 was a big year for the city as it celebrated being named Capital of Culture and along with the festivities came La Princesse, a giant mechanical spider.
The spider was created by La Machine, an art group based in Nantes, France, and arrived in Liverpool back in September 2008.
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La Princesse was initially installed on the side of the Concourse House near Lime Street station before she awoke to explore the city.
The street theatre extravaganza featuring the 50ft high, 37 tonne spider spanned five days.
Streets throughout the city centre were closed off in preparation for thousands of people heading out to see La Princesse.
The gargantuan machine was a huge hit with the people of Liverpool, with crowds swarming the streets to meet the spider.
La Princesse made her way through the streets, from the then-Echo Arena, the Royal Albert Dock, to the Cunard Building, Castle Street, Lord Street and Ranelagh Place.
From her surprise first appearance under the cover of darkness to when people flocked to watch her take her first steps, to her grand finale firework show, La Princess wowed Liverpool each and every day.
Crowds spent hours lining the streets to see the enormous spider, clambering on to walls, pillars and street furniture to catch a glimpse.
Young children screamed in delight as the spider’s feet dangled just inches above their heads as she walked past and the crowds cheered as they were soaked with jets of water sprayed from the spider’s mouth.
Following a spectacular finale which combined music, fire, water, fireworks and special effects, the spider vanished after making its way through the Queensway Tunnel, never to be seen again.
Now, more than ten years on from the massive event La Machine has continued to produce astounding street theatre - including Long Ma Jing Shen in 2014 that saw another giant spider meet with an almost 40ft high dragon-horse.
Since 2008, Concourse House, the place where La Princesse slept before her exploration of Liverpool, has been demolished and Lime Street has seen a huge regeneration project.
T he ECHO has launched a new 56-page nostalgia supplement in print. It's packed with photos from the recent past and the not-so-recent, from shopping, fashion and music to the Albert Dock – plus an elephant on parade in Woolton. You can order a copy here.
