AFTER nearly three years of planning, a giant tent city to house more than 1700 girls from 11 different countries has started to take shape at Northern Tasmania's Quercus Park.
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Girl Guides Australia international jamboree convenor Julie Miller and her helpers were up early on New Year's Day to start on the serious business of erecting tents.
More than 210 accommodation and community meeting tents are on the huge site near Carrick, which is more used to the sounds of the state's annual Agfest.
When ready to receive the interstate and overseas delegates for the week-long jamboree from Sunday, the new city under canvas will even have its own doctor and surgery and IT system.
Ms Miller said that her organising committee had tried to use local products and suppliers for the event as much as possible.
The jamboree will include excursions around the state and a ``Guides own'' campfire and wind-up barbecue on the banks of the Tamar River at Launceston's Royal Park.
The logistics of moving so many Guides about the state had been one of the jamboree's main organisational challenges, Ms Miller said.
About 40 buses have been hired to get the girls from Quercus Park to Royal Park for the wind-up campfire.
Each world jamboree had a theme, Ms Miller said.
The first world jamboree hosted by Tasmania for more than 20 years would focus on sustainability.
Guides will start arriving in the next few days from as far away as Ghana, the UK and Japan.
The biggest single contingent will be about 400 Guides from Western Australia.
