Catherine Lee BBC News, Tyneside

The tall ships have set sail for Tyneside from Cherbourg

From Monday, the Newcastle and Gateshead quayside will play host to 105 magnificent sailing ships, and up to 4,000 crew.

An estimated half a million spectators are also expected to visit the area.

A military-style operation is in place to set up the catering, toilet and retail facilities needed by the crowds.

Tyneside has hosted the Tall Ships Race twice before, in 1986 and 1993, but the 2005 event aims to be the most spectacular ever.

The international fleet of tall ships will be berthed on both sides of the Tyne, having come from as far afield as India, Russia and Uruguay.

This includes a number of Class A ships - massive square-rigged vessels, some over 100m long.

'350 public toilets'

Phil Payne, tall ships manager for Newcastle/Gateshead believes this could well be a world record.

He said: "We have probably got a similar number of ships as in 1993, but this time we have got more larger ships - probably a record at 28.

"Most tall ships races have about 70 vessels, we have 105, and we are also competing with a number of other events, such as one in the Baltic which is attracting tall ships.

"And for the first time ships will be berthed on the Gateshead side of the river, on specially-built floating pontoons."

The event has been more than two years in the planning, with organisers swinging into action immediately after the November 2003 announcement that Tyneside would play host to a leg of the race.

At the heart of the plans are thousands of young people, from more than 200 countries, who need to be accommodated on the quayside. Some have sailed from Cherbourg, others are joining the ships on the next leg of the race to Fredrikstad in Norway.

The Eye of the Wind is the first ship to arrive on the Tyne

Two "villages" are being set up to cater for them and for the thousands of members of the public who will be visiting the ships, and viewing the street theatre, entertainment and craft fares which accompany the festivities.

Roger Krys, the site manger, gave some indication of what was needed: "There will be 350 portable toilets, 40 shower units and eight washing machines and drier units.

"For the public there will be four restaurants and six bars, with local companies supplying food and drink."

Northumbrian Water has laid three kilometres of pipeline to supply water, as the larger vessels need to take on board hundreds of gallons a day. There will also be refuse collection services.

Three kilometres of fencing are also being erected, and barriers along the quayside are being filled in with mesh to ensure children are not able to fall through into the river.

With celebrations starting on Monday, and ships already beginning to arrive, the pressure is intense.

Phil Payne said: "There was never a moment when I thought we won't be ready in time, but I must admit we've been very, very busy over the past few days."