The London Eye

THE LONDON EYE

The London Eye is an observation wheel positioned on the south bank of the river Thames in central London. At the time of construction it was the largest wheel in the world. Now surpassed by The Singapore Flyer which is thirty metres higher but of a different design. The London Eye remains the worlds tallest cantilevered wheel. Its construction was a marvel of engineering, manufactured with a huge international effort involving hundreds of people.

When it was built, l remember seeing the barges, arriving from Rotterdam, slowly carrying the parts up stream. The wheel was assembled over the river, before being slowly hoisted into position in October of 1999. Weighing three hundred and thirty tonnes, it is twenty times heavier than Big Ben, which stands on the opposite bank. The spindle is the size of a church tower. The wheel travels at twenty-six centimeters per second, taking a full thirty minutes to complete a revolution. It moves slowly enough for passengers to hop on and off whilst in motion, only halting for the disabled or elderly.

Not strictly a ferris wheel, it is London's fourth tallest structure, offering views to the four compass points and up to twenty-five miles distant. It is possible to see Windsor Castle on a clear day when reaching the top, a full one hundred and thirty five metres up. There are thirty-two capsules, one for every London borough, each with a capacity of twenty-five passengers. 

It is not the first wheel of size to be erected in London. In 1894 'The Great Wheel' was constructed at the Earls Court Exhibition Centre and only dismantled in 1907. The twenty minute journey turned out to be much longer for some passengers when on one occasion the wheel stuck and those aboard had to spend a whole night and half the following day in situ. The stranded people were given compensation of five pounds and five shillings, which was a sizable fee in those days.  Such an occurrence is yet to befall The London Eye, which has been largely problem free, apart from early technicalities which delayed its opening by a few months. Since then, the attraction has been a terrific success, despite practitioners of the ancient Chinese tradition of Feng Shui predicting trouble, citing the wheel’s rotation in the opposite direction of the river's flow as being ‘energy blocking.’ Fortunately, the Feng Shui doom mongers had failed to take into consideration that at the location of The London Eye, the Thames is still strongly tidal, with many thousands of cubic metres per second of estuary water surging back up past the wheel, on a twice daily basis and in the same direction as the rotation.

The wheel cost twenty million pounds sterling to build and prior to opening it was expected have two  million visitors a year. Extraordinarily, this was a conservative estimate, with three and half million visitors in the first year alone. From 2002 onwards the Euro currency was excepted as payment and by September of that year, the ten millionth flight had been recorded, rising to thirty million flights by 2008.

Originally, the attraction was given only a five year license by Lambeth Council. However, many pointed out that the Eiffel Tower in Paris was likewise intended as a temporary structure. Sure enough, by 2006, the popularity of The London Eye had secured a twenty-five lease. Attempts by the South Bank Centre, which owns the small patch of land beneath the wheel, to massively increase its rent from sixty four thousand pounds to two and a half million, were prevented by direct interference from City Hall and a more acceptable compromise was reached. This in part helped The London Eye to defy the 2008-2009 recession, by turning a record profit of almost five million pounds according to accounts filed in October 2009. Its finances were boosted by a surge of European visitors since the recession's drop in Sterling and The London Eye remains one of the world's top fifty tourist destinations. This is in terms of visitor numbers, coming in just behind The Statue Of Liberty and The Coliseum but ahead of the Taj Mahal and Versailles.  

In late 2009 The London Eye was operated by Merlin Entertainments, having taken over from British Airways in 2005. There are a number of novelty packages on offer and it is possible to hire a whole capsule for themed occasions, including the aptly entitled 'Eye Do.' This offers private hire for civil partnership ceremonies and the capsule comes filled with flowers and champagne. 

The London Eye opens at 10 am and closes at different times depending on the seasons of the year. In late 2009 the ride cost £17. Check precise opening times and prices with The London Eye. In previous years the attraction was closed during the month of January for maintenance. Contact The London Eye for the exact dates of closure. 

Where to view video clips of The London Eye  and video clips of London

London in motion has some of the best London Stock Footage and London Library Footage with moving clips of many of the above mentioned places to see, are available to browse through by simply visiting the ‘The London Eye’ category of this website.  New additions of London video clips are being frequently uploaded and further categories will be appearing over the coming months.


Copyright: London In Motion 2009
Email: tom@londoninmotion.com