If it is, if the competition-winning concept in 1998 by the Catalan architect has translated into something wonderful despite the untimely deaths of both Miralles and his client, First Minister Donald Dewar in 2000, then nothing else matters. A very few years down the line, its cost will have been forgotten. On the other hand, if it does not turn out to be nearly so good as that, then it will quickly be seen as Scotland's ultimate folie de grandeur, a monument to the overweening ambition of the first flush of devolution.

Nobody now quibbles about how much the Sydney Opera House cost, after all. The comparison is instructive: the opera house's price rose more than 14-fold between competition and completion, whereas the Holyrood project, assuming costs do not spiral beyond £500m, will have seen a ten-fold rise. Albeit over a much shorter period - six years for Holyrood rather than 17 for Sydney. But that's the point, isn't it: can Holyrood hold a candle to Sydney? Can it transform perceptions of Edinburgh? Is it worth it, in the end?

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