LONDON (Reuters) - The United Kingdom leaves the European Union on Friday, its most significant change of course since the loss of its empire - and a major blow to 70 years of efforts to forge European unity from the ruins of two world wars.
As the EU's most reluctant member prepared to cast off an hour before midnight, Brussels warned that leaving would always be worse than staying, while Britons either side of the Brexit divide expressed either sadness or delight.
After the numerous twists and turns of a 3-1/2-year crisis, the final parting is an anticlimax of sorts: Britain steps into the twilight zone of a transition period that preserves membership in all but name until the end of this year.
At a stroke, the EU will lose 15% of its economy, its biggest military spender and the world's international financial capital - London.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson planned to celebrate with English sparkling wine and a distinctly British array of canapés including Shropshire blue cheese and Yorkshire puddings with beef and horseradish.
"This is the moment when the dawn breaks and the curtain goes up on a new act," said Johnson, one of the leaders of the "Leave" campaign in the 2016 referendum. "It is a moment of real national renewal and change."
Beyond the symbolism of the Union Jack flag being lowered in Brussels after 47 years, little will actually change until the end of 2020, by which time Johnson has promised to strike a broad free trade agreement with the EU, the world's biggest trading bloc.
