London Eye

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London Eye
Formerly called Millennium Wheel

The London Eye on 5 August 2009
Merlin Entertainments Location London, Greater London, England, UK Coordinates 51.503436°N 0.119571°W / 51.503436; -0.119571 Showman / operator Merlin Entertainments Status Operating since 9 March 2000
Statistics
Manufacturer	Hollandia UK
Type	Ferris Wheel
Capacity	800 per cycle
Hourly capacity	1600
Height	135 metres
Speed	0.9 km/h
Cabins	32

The London Eye is a standalone Ferris Wheel currently located in London, Greater London, England, UK. The ride is owned and operated by Merlin Entertainments. It is currently the highest ride in the UK.

History

The ride was officially opened on 31 December 1999, but the first rides wouldn't be given untill 9 March 2000. This is thus considered the opening date of the Millennium Wheel, as it was called upon opening. The attraction was originally intended to remain standing for 5 years, but this date would be moved further back on several occasions as the ride became a popular icon for the city. It wouldn't be untill 2024 when it was eventually decided that the ride would become permanent, with no more postponing of its dismantling being needed.

Design

The ride features 32 cabins, each cabin being able to carry 25 people. This gives the ride a theoretical throughput of 1600 riders an hour. This is also due the ride not stopping to allow riders to enter or exit a cabin, the ride travel's slow enough to the point where stopping isn't neccesary in most conditions. This max speed of 0,9 km/h gives the attraction a ride time of about 30 minutes.

The ride is cantilevered, being only supported on one side. The wheel itself is hanging over the River Thames.

External link

• The official website