With as much hoopla as London can muster, inauguration ceremonies are scheduled tonight for The Shard, which will be the tallest building in western Europe when it's completed next year. The ceremony will be hosted by the Duke of York and Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassem Bin Jabor Al Thani, Prime Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, the main backer of the project.

The highlight of the festivities will be a light show featuring 12 lasers and 30 searchlights.

Despite outward appearances and tonight’s ceremony, The Shard is not finished. The external shell has been completed; however the building will not officially open until early next year.