A Short History Of The London Eye

Formerly called Millennium Wheel, The London Eye is a revolving observation wheel, or Ferris wheel, in London, on the South Bank of the River Thames in the borough of Lambeth. At an overall height of 135 metres, the London Eye was the world’s tallest Ferris wheel from 1999, when it was built, until 2006, when it was surpassed by the Star of Nanchang, in Nanchang, China.

It is one of London’s most popular tourist attractions for which an admission fee is charged and is sometimes credited with sparking a worldwide revival of Ferris wheel construction.

The London Eye originated as an entry submitted by David Marks and Julia Barfield of Marks Barfield Architects in 1993 to a competition, sponsored by The Sunday Times and Great Britain’s Architecture Foundation, for a new landmark to commemorate the millennium in London.

Although no winner was declared, Marks and Barfield undertook the development of the project themselves and found the site where the wheel now stands. Much of the funding was provided by British Airways.
Construction began in 1998, and the wheel was put together over the river, in a horizontal position, before being pulled upright. The London Eye, as it was called by this time, was ceremonially “opened” by Prime Minister Tony Blair on December 31, 1999, but did not admit its first paying passenger until March 9, 2000.

Originally scheduled to be dismantled after five years, it was kept in place because of its continued popularity. In 2006 a decorative LED lighting system was installed in order to make the wheel more prominent after dark.