London Eye

The story of London Eye

The London Eye is a 135 metre cantilevered observation wheel on the South Bank of the River Thames, and what makes it stand out is that it is supported solely by an A-frame on one side. It was originally called the Millennium Wheel, and it is now one of London’s most recognisable public viewpoints.

This wheel stands beside County Hall, between Westminster Bridge and Hungerford Bridge, on the edge of Jubilee Gardens in the London Borough of Lambeth. The nearest tube station is Waterloo, and London Waterloo station, London Waterloo East station, and the London Eye Pier are all close by, so this is very much a place built for arriving from several directions.

David Marks and Julia Barfield conceived it. Marks Barfield Architects took the project forward after submitting it in 1993 to a competition for a new landmark to commemorate the millennium in London, and much of the funding was provided by British Airways. The idea was to create a giant observation wheel for that millennium celebration, and although the competition did not declare a winner, the pair pursued the project independently and found the site where it now stands.

Construction began in 1998. The wheel was built in sections, floated up the Thames on barges, assembled lying flat on piled platforms in the river, and then lifted into an upright position by a strand jack system made by Enerpac. Its rim is supported by tensioned steel cables and, from the outside, it resembles a huge spoked bicycle wheel. The engineering side involved Mace as construction manager, Hollandia as the main steelwork contractor, Tilbury Douglas as the civil contractor, Tony Gee & Partners for the foundation works, and Beckett Rankine for the marine works.

The public opening came in stages. It was formally opened on 31 December 1999 by the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, who fired a laser beam across the Thames, and the occasion was marked by a flypast from Concorde, British Airways’ flagship jet. It did not admit paying visitors until 9 March 2000 because of a capsule clutch problem. That means the wheel was already part of London’s turn-of-the-century ceremony before it became a ride for everyone.

At the time it opened to the public in 2000, it was the world’s tallest Ferris wheel. Britannica says it was the world’s tallest Ferris wheel from 1999 until 2006, when the Star of Nanchang in China surpassed it. The Eye later ceased to be London’s highest public viewing point in 2013, when the View from The Shard took that title.

The London Eye is now widely regarded as a symbol of London, and a 2006 government-commissioned survey named it an icon of modern England. Its image has appeared in British passports, on some London Underground seat moquette, and in the closing ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics. It also serves as the focal point for London’s New Year’s Eve celebrations, with more than 2,000 fireworks launched from the wheel itself during the televised display each year.

In 2001, operators applied to Lambeth Council to make the attraction permanent, and that status was granted in July 2002. Ownership is now with Merlin Entertainments. In 2006, the lighting was redone with LED lighting from Color Kinetics so the lights could be digitally controlled. A 4D cinema was added in nearby County Hall in 2009, where visitors watch a four-minute film before riding.

If you look closely, the key things to notice are the single-sided support, the cable-stayed rim, and the way the structure sits over the river edge rather than in a plaza. It is both a piece of engineering and a working attraction, with opening hours listed every day from 10:00 AM to 8:30 PM.