The Trafford Centre marks 25th anniversary

The Trafford Centre is marking its 25th anniversary.

The complex in Urmston, Greater Manchester, is the third largest indoor shopping centre and entertainment complex in the UK by retail space, and as of 2011 the Trafford Centre had Europe's largest food court and the UK's busiest cinema.

The Trafford Centre opened on 10 September 1998 after taking 27 months to build and costing £600 million.

Report from Granada Reports on the day the Trafford Centre opened on 10 September, 1998

The Barton Square and Great Hall extensions opened in 2008 at a combined cost of more than £100 million.

The style of the building was chosen to avoid the centre rapidly appearing dated and stale, as so many United Kingdom shopping centres built in the 1960s and 1970s had become.

Although the extravagant Rococo and Baroque design may be viewed as gaudy, John Whitaker, the chairman of Peel Group said: "When we first started the architects said, 'you shouldn’t be doing all this and giving it all the razzmatazz and showbiz, leave that to the retailers'.

The food court was the biggest in Europe Credit: PA

"Make it plain, make it clinical, make it white and hospitalised and let them do the work, so then we put in the paintings, we put in the real gold leaf, we put artefacts everywhere, paintings.

"It is the people’s palace. It is something to attract shoppers ... to give them the Dallas effect."

There are three domed atria along the length of the mall, and the developers claim its £5 million middle dome is bigger than St Paul's Cathedral.

The Trafford Centre is decorated primarily in shades of white, pink and gold with ivory, jade and caramel coloured marble throughout.

It's claimed the central dome is bigger than the one on St Paul's Cathedral Credit: PA

As of 1996 there were 45,000 square metres (480,000 sq ft) or £5.8 million of Tuscan marble and granite flooring.

The marble floors and handrails are polished every night.

The Trafford Centre has decorative features such as red roses of Lancashire to pay homage to North West England.

Griffin statues adorn the exterior, the heraldic symbol of the de Trafford baronets who historically owned much of the land in modern-day Trafford.

The centre has an opulent style Credit: PA

A feature of the centre is the statuary, fountains and other sculpture. There are over 100 figures, mainly in a classical Greek, Roman, or Art Nouveau style.

The huge indoor shopping centre will be holding a special event on Friday 29 September to mark the 25th anniversary.

The band B*Witched, whose debut single 'C'est La Vie' went straight to the top of the charts 25 years ago in 1998, will be performing.

The show will also feature incredible dance acts, archive video footage, iconic fashion and music from across the decades.

Double demin at the ready, B*Witched are celebrating 25 years too Credit: PA

Simon Layton, Centre Director at Trafford Centre, said: “As Trafford Centre marks its 25th birthday, we are embracing our heritage, relishing in our present and looking excitedly ahead to our future.

“For 25 years, we’ve been a beacon of fashion excellence and style, with people flocking from far and wide to shop the biggest fashion brands, using the Trafford Centre as their own catwalk.

"As we celebrate this milestone, we want to continue that legacy of inspiring future generations to embrace their individual style – whatever the future of fashion may hold!”

Fashion fans can also enjoy fashion displays from the past, present and future across the centre throughout September.