Stand by for a dazzling European event. Cameras everywhere. Famous faces. Red carpets.
No, not Eurovision in all its noisy glory, but the first European summit of what the prime minister hopes will be a new era, where governments around the continent concentrate not on instant verdicts – douze points or nul points – but on creating long-term relationships that make life easier.
The UK is hoping to show that just as you don't have to be European to enjoy Eurovision, you don't have to be in the European Union (EU) to get some of the benefits of the club.
Expectations of Monday's summit are high. One minister joked they hope you'll "Remember Monday" – get it? It's a moment to fix what they consider were the mistakes of Boris Johnson's Brexit deal.
It's the first formal summit for European leaders since Brexit, and Downing Street is going for the full extravaganza: the grandeur of London's Lancaster House, a warship brought up the Thames to be shown off and used as a lunch venue, then, it's hoped, even a press conference in the Downing Street Rose Garden. "It's clearly designed for the telly – everyone will be there apart from the King and Paddington Bear," said a diplomatic source about the plans.
The atmosphere is entirely different to the last time the UK and the EU circled each other at a formal summit. The two main negotiators – Nick Thomas-Symonds for the UK, who'll join us in the studio on Sunday, and the EU's Maros Sefcovic – have struck a friendly partnership, sinking wine (Slovakian reds) and whisky (Welsh).
What's the actual point of the summit? In private, government insiders are not expecting a giant whizz-bang new deal with our closest trading partners. The public gave Labour permission to improve the existing Brexit agreement in the general election but not totally rewrite it, and the EU doesn't have the mandate from its members to draft something totally new either. Be on guard for any declarations of a heroic or profound shift.
But it's a significant moment nonetheless, after all those years of bitterness and brinkmanship, and the government hopes there will be meaningful agreements, particularly on defence, opening up billions of euros to UK firms, and tidying up some of the existing cooperation between the UK and EU countries on security.
Expect an easing of the admin hassles Brexit created for farmers and the food industry – sanitary and phytosanitary arrangements, or SPS to use the horrendous jargon.
There will be important commitments – diplomatic language at least – on energy, on migration, agriculture, on data sharing, the list goes on. My colleague Damian Grammaticas has taken a closer look at some of the issues here.
