THE LONDON EYE
The British Airways London Eye, sometimes called the Millennium Wheel, is the first-built and largest observation wheel in the world (a type of or evolution on the Ferris wheel), and has been since its opening at the end of 1999.
It stands 135 metres (443 feet) high on the western end of Jubilee Gardens, on the South Bank of the River Thames in Lambeth, London, England, between Westminster and Hungerford Bridges. It is adjacent to London's County Hall, and stands opposite the offices of the Ministry of Defence situated in Westminster which it overlooks to the west.
 HISTORY OF THE LONDON EYE
Designed by architects David Marks and Julia Barfield, the wheel carries 32 sealed, air conditioned, passenger capsules attached to its external circumference. It rotates at a rate of 0.26 metres per second (about 0.9 km/h or 0.6 mph) so that a complete revolution takes about 30 minutes to complete. The wheel does not usually stop to take on passengers; the rotation rate is so slow that passengers can easily walk on and off the moving capsules at ground level. It is, however, stopped on occasion to allow disabled or elderly passengers time to alight safely. Structurally the Eye resembles a huge spoked bicycle wheel, and was depicted as such in a poster advertising a charity cycle race.
The wheel was constructed in sections which were floated up the river Thames on barges and assembled lying flat on pontoons. Once the wheel was complete it was raised into its upright position by cranes. The wheel was initially lifted at a rate of about 2 degrees per hour until it reached 65 degrees, where it stayed for a week while engineers prepared for the second phase of the lift. The total weight of steel in the Eye is 1,700 tonnes.
The Eye was opened by British Prime Minister Tony Blair on December 31, 1999, although it was not actually opened to the public until March 2000 because of technical problems. Since its opening, the Eye, operated by Tussauds Group but sponsored by British Airways, has become a major landmark and tourist attraction. Recently, The London Eye was voted the world's best tourist attraction in a poll commissioned by the snack company Pringles.
The Eye enjoyed a warmer reception from the British public upon its opening than London's other significant Millennium project, the Dome, although the delay in opening had caused some press scepticism. By July 2002 around 8.5 million people had 'flown' the eye. It originally had planning permission only for five years, but at that time Lambeth Council agreed plans to make the attraction permanent.
Although the Eye is currently listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the tallest observation wheel in the world, it is unlikely to keep that title for long. Plans have been announced to build a 170 m wheel on the Las Vegas Strip and a 200 m wheel in Shanghai. (By comparison, the original 1893 Ferris wheel was 75 m high).
Ownership of the Eye is divided between British Airways with 33 % , the Tussauds Group and its creators.
CURRENT STATUS OF THE LONDON EYE
On 19 May 2005 there were reports of a leaked letter showing that the South Bank Centre - owners of part of the land on which the struts of the eye are located - served a notice to quit on the attraction along with a demand for an increase in rent from £65,000 per year to £2.5 million, which the operators have rejected as unaffordable.
Some news reports suggested that if the Eye were evicted it might be re-erected in another part of London, such as Hyde Park. In the following weeks there were a number of conflicting reports about the future of the London Eye, including rumours of a bid to move the eye to Paris (denied by the French), and reports that the South Bank Centre itself denied ever having made the demands claimed. It was also reported that the uncertainty over the eye might hurt the London bid for the 2012 Olympic games.
On 25 May 2005, London mayor Ken Livingstone vowed that the landmark would remain in London, describing Lord Hollick, the boss of the SBC, as a "complete prat". He also pledged that if the row was not resolved he would use his powers to ask the London Development Agency to issue a compulsory purchase order. The land in question is a small part of the Jubilee Gardens, which was given to the SBC for £1 when the Greater London Council was broken up.
Despite its popularity, the London Eye continues to be something of a financial black hole. Its debt stood at more than £150 million by mid-2005, increasing at the rate of £25 million per year. Much of this is due to the costly loans taken out to finance the construction of the Eye, with its operators Tussauds taking 4% of all ticket sales as a "management fee".
INFORMATION FOR THE LONDON EYE
The closest National Rail stop is Waterloo station
The closest London Underground stops are Westminster tube station (Jubilee, District, Circle lines) and Waterloo station (Waterloo & City, Bakerloo, Jubilee, Northern lines)
From Wikipedia.org
 LONDON TOURS, TRAVEL & ACTIVITIES
LONDON HOTELS & ACCOMMODATION
HOME •
ENGLAND •
DISCOVER •
London •
The London Eye
|
Looking for something specific?
QUICK LINKS FOR ENGLAND TRAVEL:
|
ENGLAND HOTELS:
LONDON HOTELS:
ALL London Hotels,
... see all London Hotels
|
ENGLAND TOURS:
LONDON TOURS & TRAVEL:
Adventure Tours,
Attractions,
Culinary Tours,
Cycling,
Day Tours,
Dinner Tours,
Extended Tours,
Night Cruises,
Overnight Tours,
Rail Tours,
Sightseeing Tours,
Sightseeing Cruises,
Sightseeing Passes,
Theatre Dinner Packages,
Transfers,
Walking Tours,
... see all London Tours
|
DISCOVER ENGLAND:
LONDON:
Attractions,
Cathedrals & Churches,
Museums,
Palaces & Stately Homes,
Parks & Gardens,
Squares & Monuments,
|
ATTRACTIONS:
Big Ben,
London Eye,
Royal Albert Hall,
Tower Bridge,
|
The British Airways London Eye observation wheel on the banks of the River Thames near the Houses of Parliament, London, England
Capsules at the top of the wheel,
London Eye, London Attractions
|
DISCOVER ENGLAND
ENGLAND TOURS & TRAVEL
