Ireland's first ever Ikea store opened in east Belfast today.
Belfast Lord Mayor Jim Rodgers opened the store, Ikea's 270th worldwide, this morning.
Several thousand people are expected through the doors today. Shuttle buses are running from the city centre, as well as hire coaches across Northern Ireland and the Republic.
The 29,000sq m Ikea store, which has 530 employees, has 1,600 car parking spaces, plus 600 overflow spaces in the nearby Holywood Exchange complex.
An extra 30 CCTV cameras have been fitted as part of the anti-terrorist security measures to the store.
Northern Ireland's First Minister Rev Ian Paisley and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness attended the opening and they too said it was a sign of changed times.
Plans for an early opening of the Swedish furniture giant's Dublin store remain stalled. The retailer has said it would like to open near the Ballymun interchange on the M50 next August.
However, the 30,000 sq m store is not likely to open before 2010 after the National Roads Authority (NRA) confirmed that phase two of the M50 upgrade, which includes the feeder roads to the planned store, will not be completed before then.
Ikea, which will employ 500 people in the Dublin store, has been lobbying the NRA and Fingal County Council to get completion of the work brought forward.