Gateshead is a town in Tyne and Wear; it has a population of over 78,000 people. The town of Gateshead is located on the southern bank of the River Tyne. Gateshead resides opposite the city of Newcastle upon Tyne and it is connected to the city by seven bridges across the River Tyne. The landmark Gateshead Millennium Bridge is one of seven bridges that join Gateshead with Newcastle. It was built in 2001, and won the James Stirling Prize for Architecture in 2002.
Gateshead is home to the Metro Centre, a shopping centre located on a former industrial estate. The shopping centre has over 300 shops and provides a large number of job opportunities within the retail sector. It is the largest shopping centre in the European Union. The centre has 2,089,000 square feet of retail floor space and is a very popular shopping destination.
Gateshead's economy is based mainly around the public, retail and service sectors, which all provide employment opportunities within the town. The town has one of the largest purpose built commercial estates in the UK. It is home to over 700 companies, and also more recently, the Retail World retail park.
Gateshead council helped to redevelop the Gateshead Quays cultural centre within the town. The area is the location of The Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, which was converted from an old flour mill. The centre hosts a number of exhibitions and events throughout the year. The Baltic center hosted the 2011 Turner Prize; this was the first time the Prize was presented outside of Tate in its 27 year history.
The Angel of the North is located in the town of Gateshead. It is one of the largest sculptures in Britain and is 20 metres high. The sculpture was erected in 1998 by artist Antony Gormley. Another place of interest within Gateshead is The Sage Gateshead, a venue for music and performing arts which was opened in 2004 and designed by Norman Foster.