London Eye
Hotels Near London Eye
London Eye
Constructed in 1999, to celebrate the Millennium, The London Eye has been a huge success for London, the capital city of England, in the United Kingdom. It lies on the southern bank of the River Thames by the Jubilee Gardens, which are located between the bridges of Hungerford and Westminster.
The Millennium Wheel, as it is sometimes referred, occupies an area of London that lies adjacent to the place where the original Dome of Discovery was built, to celebrate the Festival of Britain in 1951. It is at the Western end of the Jubilee Gardens and holds a prominent position along the banks of the River Thames and can be seen by all, for miles in and around London.
The London Eye was designed by six prominent architects, of their time. They were Steven Chilton, Julia Barfield, Mark Sparrowhawk, David Marks, Nick Bailey and Malcolm Cook.
The London Eye is the tallest Ferris wheel in Europe and at the time of its construction was for several years the tallest Ferris wheel in the World, at 135 metres. It was only overtaken by the construction of the Star of Nanchang wheel in May 2006, which is 160 meters tall and then later the Singapore Flyer at 165 meters tall in February 2008, both of which are in Asia.
Built as an observation wheel, the London Eye is supported on one side by an A-frame structure and has 32 `pods` fixed to the outside circumference. These `pods` are separate air-conditioned carriages, which can hold up to 25 people and there are 32 capsules on the entire wheel. Each capsule has re-enforced glass panels in its ceilings, walls and floors, all of which make excellent viewing of London and its surrounding area.
The passengers are able to sit on a central bench in the capsule for the 30 minute ride or they can walk around the capsule on foot and see London from different angles, as the wheel rotates. The wheel slowly rotates at a speed of 0.5 mph (26cm per second) and continually revolves allowing passengers to embark and disembark whilst in motion. Allowances are made for disabled and less mobile passengers with a short pause in procedures.
The London Eye runs throughout the day and into the evening and the original lighting was automated in December 2006, with LED lighting from Colour Kinetics.
Although, the London Eye was originally built with planning permission for only 5 years, Lambeth Council decided to make it permanent because it has proved itself to be such worth while attraction, for the many thousands of visitors to London.
The site of the land was partly owned by the South Bank Centre and much controversy was made over amount of rent to be charged once the initial 5 years had expired. However, eventually after a judicial review, a 25 year lease was agreed between the South Bank Centre and the British Airways London Eye, who owns the wheel, was agreed.
The success of the London Eye has been phenomenal. It is currently the most popular paid tourist attraction in Britain and has had over 30 million passengers since its official opening on 31st December 1999 up until the summer of 2008 and has become a landmark upon the London skyline.
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