During the promotion of his album Guitars, Oldfield acknowledged in several interviews that he was working on an album that would be a tribute to the 2000 years of history since the birth of Christ. At the end of 1999, WEA released The Millennium Bell. The cover art spoke volumes about the album's concept: a bent bell, as is his custom, floating amidst an amalgamation of objects such as planets, guitars, swords, butterflies, astronauts, Dalí's famous melting clock, and more. The cover was designed by the infographic company Blue Cactus.

With The Millennium Bell, Oldfield wanted to offer a musical overview, not only of two thousand years of human history, but also of many styles, seemingly demonstrating that, in addition to mastering most instruments, he also mastered many other musical genres. For example, the album contains styles as diverse as Christmas music, Central American tribal music, Venetian rondo, gospel, orchestral music, and so on. To commemorate the discovery of America, he wanted to include "Santa María" on the album, a track very similar in style to one that Vangelis had already composed for the soundtrack of the film 1492: Conquest of Paradise. "Amber Light" was a piece expressly composed to commemorate the dawn of the new millennium. Two different choirs joined together, singing in unison with Miryam Stockley, David Serame, and Nicola Emmanuel, who provided the lead vocals. An attempt was made to record a version of this track with the special collaboration of Nelson Mandela, who would have recited the introductory words, but Mandela's numerous commitments prevented it. "The Millennium Bell", the almost eight-minute track, is a reprise of all the songs on the album.

The concert was launched at Berlin's Victory Column, about 300 meters from the Brandenburg Gate, to celebrate the arrival of the new millennium. It is estimated that nearly a million people were present. Oldfield commemorated the occasion by composing the song "Berlin 2000", which served as the closing number for the concert.