PARIS — The European millennium arrived to champagne parties at the Eiffel Tower, to cracking fireworks along the River Thames and to a street party along an area once cut in two by the Berlin Wall.
On Paris' jammed Champs-Elysees, revelers gathered around a row of imaginative Ferris wheels, ablaze with light and color — each designed by artists to reflect hope for the next 1,000 years.
"Oooohhhhh," yelled Majorie Fraisse as she and her friends watched brilliant blues, reds, greens and golden yellows swirl about the century-old tower.
People spilled from restaurants, sated and awash in wine, to dance on the streets. Impromptu concerts of saxophones, bongos and guitars set a backdrop to bursting firecrackers and the din of canned fog horns.
As Big Ben's famous bell chimed midnight in London, a 15-minute fireworks show there flashed sparkling lights across the sky as the crackle of explosions echoed above some 2.5 million people.
Queen Elizabeth II lit a huge millennium beacon afloat on a barge, then joined the celebrations at the Millennium Dome, the huge new edifice perched like a spaceship on the riverside at Greenwich.
As midnight tolled, the queen toasted the new century with a glass of champagne and kissed husband Prince Philip on the cheek. They linked arms with Prime Minister Tony Blair and his wife to sing "Auld Lang Syne" with the rest of the crowd.
In Berlin, some 2 million revelers came from east and west, packing both sides of the Brandenburg Gate and squeezing along a 3-mile stretch of Germany's freshly restored capital.
From the angel-capped Victory Column in western Berlin to the futuristic television tower in the east, the street party swirled as fireworks streamed across Berlin's hazy sky.
Many French celebrated in private homes with old friends peacefully working through stuffed goose liver, lobster, smoked salmon, venison and other holiday delicacies.
"This is the most beautiful city in the world, and you can overeat to your heart's content," said Jane Miller, a poet from Tucson, Ariz. "Where else would I be?"
Just days ago, the mood was less bacchanalia as killer winds savaged France, tearing out 150,000 trees around Paris, many planted two centuries ago when the Sun King ruled at Versailles.
Rains swelled the Seine, flooding its fabled quays and washing away plans for dinner cruises amid fairy-lit boats. Cracked tree trunks and blown-down signs smashed cars along the Champs-Elysees.
But Paris got over it.
Odile Saturnin, a real estate agent, brought her 3-year-old daughter, Jennifer, to the foot of the Eiffel Tower from their home on the French Caribbean island of Martinique.
"I don't expect to live another 100 years," she said, "so I decided to get an eyeful this time."