The London Eye

Design And Construction

At a press conference in London on 2 February 1999 the company announced that it had commissioned the Eye to be built by lead architects Marks Barfield. The firm previously designed the Aquatics Centre for the 2000 Summer Olympics, and is consulted by governments and public bodies on tall structure design, including bridges, stations, airports and harbours. The London Eye is located on Jubilee Gardens on the South Bank of the River Thames between Westminster Bridge and Hungerford Bridge.

Financial Difficulties

During 2005, the Eye’s owners rejected a buyout offer, and an attempt to get financial support from Boris Johnson, who had replaced Ken Livingstone as Mayor of London that year, The London NET (thelondonnet.co.uk). After the private financing firm which was prepared to buy the owners out went into receivership, the owners themselves were placed in receivership on 25 June 2008. This followed a dispute with German-backed investors regarding their share of profits from the Eye.

The attraction remained closed throughout August 2008, before reopening later that month after Jardine Matheson agreed to reduce its share of profits from 25% to 15%. In November 2006, the South Bank Centre's owners, the Peel Group, announced that they were reviewing their plans to sell the building lease for the site of the London Eye (along with South Bank Centre itself) to rival developer Seymour Pierce amid concerns over service charge costs and recent lack of profitability.

London Eye owners Merlin Attractions Group received planning permission to change the structure of the wheel by adding legs in October 2005. This was completed in November 2006, raising the height by 3. 0m to a total of 135. 5m and making it more resistant to wind forces. It overlooks both the Palace of Westminster to the north, and UNESCO's newly built headquarters at Waterloo Bridge to the south. London Eye. mw-parser-output.

History

The London Eye was conceived in the early 1990s by the then Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone. He had hoped to construct a monument similar to the Eiffel Tower in Paris and Washington, D. C. 's Smithsonian Institution on the vacant ex-industrial land on the South Bank of the River Thames. As part of his campaign in May 2000, he proposed that "a great helter-skelter [should be] erected as a landmark for our capital city's Jubilee celebrations.

" Two months later Trellick Tower architect Julia Barfield invited him to visit the unveiling of the tower's 120-foot (37 m) concrete rim and base to "show you what we mean by a wheel". The London Eye was conceived as part of a plan to improve the South Bank's public art and to provide a focal point for the Jubilee celebrations in 1997, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II.

Opening

The London Eye is the largest cantilevered observation wheel in the world. Capable of carrying a maximum of 20,000 people a day and able to withstand winds of over 50 mph, it was the world's tallest Ferris wheel from 2005 until the opening of the High Roller in Las Vegas on 18 March 2014. The London Eye was the world's tallest Ferris wheel from 20 April (when it overtook the Star of Nanchang) until 17 March 2005 (when it was overtaken by Singapore Flyer ), and is still the largest in diameter.

Transport Links

By Tube: The nearest London Underground station is Waterloo, although Charing Cross, Embankment and Westminster are also within easy walking distance. By bus: The majority of buses serving the area are operated by the London General and National Express companies from outside the Marks and Spencer shop on Wellington Street, near the junction with Parliament Street. Transport links. The nearest London Underground station is Waterloo, although Charing Cross, Embankment, and Westminster are also within easy walking distance.

Transport links. The nearest London Underground station is Waterloo, although Charing Cross, Embankment, and Westminster are also within easy walking distance. The nearest London Underground station is Waterloo, although Charing Cross, Embankment, and Westminster are also within easy walking distance. The nearest London Underground station is Waterloo, although Charing Cross, Embankment, and Westminster are also within easy walking distance. Because the great success of the 120-m wheel across the river in Paris, France, only two weeks before, against expectations, Westminster Council decided it would give planning permission to this proposal.


Laura Grace

Laura Grace

Main Contributor and Editor of The London NET