LONDON EYE

T

he London Eye is a giant wheel situated on the banks of the River Thames, in London, England. The London Eye was formally opened by the then Prime Minister, Tony Blair, on 31 December 1999, although it was not opened to the public until 9 March 2000 because of technical problems. Since its opening, the Eye has become a major landmark and tourist attraction.

The structure is 135 meters tall and the wheel has a diameter of 120 meters.

The wheel has 32 passenger capsules, designed by Leitner-Poma. Each capsule represents one of the London Boroughs. Each weighs 10 tonnes and holds 25 people, who are free to walk around inside the capsule. The major components coming from six countries: the steel came from the UK, the cables came from Italy, the capsules were made in France (and the glass for these came from Italy), and the electrical components from the UK.

The wheel rotates at 26 cm per second, so one revolution takes about 30 minutes, and it does not usually stop to take on passengers.

It is the tallest Ferris wheel in Europe, and the most popular attraction in the United Kingdom, visited by over 3.5 million people annually.