London Eye Facts: The British Airways London Eye is also called by the name ‘The Millennium Wheel’ or ‘The London Eye.’ The London Eye was formerly known as the ‘Merlin Entertainments London Eye.’ This wheel is one of the iconic sights of London and was inaugurated by the then Prime Minister, Tony Blair in December 1999.
Located at the western end of the Jubilee Gardens on the southern banks of the River Thames in the London Borough of Lambent in England between Westminster Bridge and Hungerford Bridge, this splendid structure is adjacent to the former Dome of Discovery built in 1951 for the Festival of Britain.
The London eye became operative only by March 2000 owing to the technical problems which it faced initially. This wheel officially became known as the EDF Energy London Eye as a result of the three-year sponsorship in January 2011.
How Long did it take to build the London Eye
When erected in 1999, it was the tallest Ferris in the world. This was replaced by Star of Nechung in 2006 and subsequently by Singapore Flyer in 2008. The approximate building cost of the London Eye is 70 million pounds. The architects of this wheel are Josvoll Oslo, Malcolm Cook, Mark Sparrowhawk, Steven Chilton, Frank Anatole, Nic Bailey and the husband-and-wife team of Julia Barfield and David Marks and the consulting engineers Tony Gee and Partners designed the foundation works whereas Beckett Rankine designed the waterworks.
How Tall is the London eye in feet
The London wheel is 135 meters which are 443 feet tall and weighs and contains around 32 capsules attached to its wheels moving smoothly at the speed of 26cm per second. Each capsule is air-conditioned depicting each of the London Boroughs and contains as many as 25 people at once.
London Eye Facts
Though there is seating provided in the capsule, yet people are free to walk around inside the capsule. One revolution takes almost 30 minutes during which visitors can enjoy the spectacular views up to 40kms in all directions, though this largely depends on the weather.
The wheel usually stops only to allow old and handicapped people to go on board or to get off from the capsule safely. The edge of the Eye is supported by tie rods thereby the structure resembling that of a wheel. In 2006, the lighting of the London Eye was restored with LED lighting by Color Kinetics in order to provide digital lights instead of replacing gels over fluorescent tubes.
Nearest tube stations to London Eye
The London Eye is on walking distance from quite a few underground stations like Westminster, Charing Cross, Embankment, Waterloo(which is the closest tube station).
This magnificent structure is the most visited tourist spot of London having a tourist population of over 3.5 million in a year. Owing to the popular demand for this place, there are a lot of special packages offered as well.
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