All eyes on Sheffield for next two decades as major Crucible snooker announcement is made
Our Crucible is iconic around the world. It sits in the UK's best theatre producing complex and it is the unique home to a game that captivates millions across the globe.
Today the Crucible has finally been recognised as an "extraordinary building of global and national significance".
Hear hear, about time, encore, encore.
What a fantastic moment in our history.
I look forward to every Sheffield theatre production with glee.
That hasn't changed since I was a little girl and Bobby Knutt was the talk of the town.
I still haven't quite recovered from my older sister being invited on stage when she won a panto colouring competition - and she took her best friend rather than me!
But I try very hard not to hold that against Sheffield Theatres since 40 years have passed.
In fact, the lessons my own children have learnt through incredible productions on that stage go far beyond what can be taught in the classroom.
We do drama well in this city and now we can do it even better.
More details will be revealed in the coming months but the most intriguing line from today’s big announcement is that the Grade II listed theatre will be bigger and rounder!
I have seen many April Fool jokes imagining an extension rising out of the Crucible but, finally, a far more sensible and exciting plan.
It will be a changing space - sometimes remaining just as it is and sometimes the audience will be able to sit all the way around the stage.I love watching newcomers' faces when the first step through those colour coded doors into the auditorium.
That surprise will now be there for Sheffielders too as this beloved space becomes a shapeshifter.
There will also be a real buzz when the World Championships arrives in Sheffield next month and the dread of impending doom has finally been lifted.
I remember the relief when the council announced that a 10-year deal had been signed.
Ever since then, rumours have swirled about it disappearing as soon as the decade was done.
Only fools would have let it go overseas and everybody who loves the game knows that there will never, ever be a replacement for the Crucible's hallowed halls.
We have sat in The Star offices and discussed how to make the Crucible bigger many a time.
We still reminisce about the Black Ball Final of 85 which went on into the early hours.
It was viewed by 18.5 million people around the world - including members of our team who were there and still proudly remember when the day a sport branded dull was so gripping that not a child in the city would go to bed.
And we all still adore every moment of theatre that Jimmy White brought to our city and the game.
There might not have been much money in the game but, oh boy, we had characters.
These are moments that money can't buy. It is publicity that cannot be created and we must work hard to grab every second in the spotlight.
Lovers of theatre, snooker and Sheffield will have to be patient.
Work isn't going to start before summer 2028 at the earliest and who has ever seen a building project that finished on time?
So let's get this right, let's keep the world's eyes on Sheffield for all the right reasons. Let's keep making this incredible city of ours shine.