The long wait has ended; this morning a 50ft puppet 'woke up' in Stanley Park, Liverpool, and began parading around the city as part of a three-day spectacular.
Thousands of people gathered in the park to watch the start of Sea Odyssey; for what is likely to be the biggest street theatre event of 2012 in the UK.
The 30ft tall wooden puppet – known as Little Girl Giant – was woken by young musicians from the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra's In Harmony project.
She will walk through the streets of the city over the weekend as she plays out a story inspired by the Titanic. At one point on Friday, she invited young people to use her arms as a makeshift swing, to the delight of the crowd.
Her uncle who is 50ft tall also arrived dressed as a diver emerging from the River Mersey.
Sea Odyssey tells the story of the girl's quest to learn news of her father, who died on the ill-fated liner a century ago.
It is inspired by the real-life story of a young girl from Liverpool, May McMurray, who was trying to find out about her father who died on the doomed liner. Sadly, the letter never reached him.
The giant girl, is accompanied by a playful mechanical puppet dog Xolo who will interact with onlookers.
They will be moved along by a team of 110 puppeteers and crane operators, who refer to themselves as Lilliputians, after Jonathan Swift's characters in Gulliver's Travels.
The Sea Odyssey is the final event to use European legacy funding from the Liverpool capital of culture year in 2008.
It follows the success of a similar spectacular during the city's capital of culture year four years ago when a giant spider – La Princesse – attracted large crowds.
Thousands of people are expected to head into the city during the course of the weekend as part of the events to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Titanic disaster.
Director Jean-Luc Courcoult said he hopes the event will create civic pride. He said: "It's important the people of the city have roots belonging to the past. Liverpool, for me, stands out as an island in its own right, within a larger island. Passions for football, the revolutionary music and poetry of the Beatles and the legendary story of the Titanic give the city a strong, emblematic identity." He said the people also have a "compelling warmth which draws me towards them."
After the puppets finish their 23-mile journey through the city and north Liverpool, there will be a waterfront parade.
Joe Anderson, the leader of Liverpool city council, said the Titanic will always resonate with Liverpool, particularly as the name of the city was emblazoned on its stern and many of its crew were from Merseyside.
"The tragic sinking of the ship affected people across the globe, and it's fitting that the city where the ship was registered is remembering the vessel in such a special way."
