The London Eye

Have you been to London since the Millennium? If the answer is yes, then you must have seen the new landmark of the city, the huge observation wheel on the bank of the River Thames. With its height of 135 metres, the impressive structure is quite difficult to miss. Even if you haven't visited England's capital lately the sight of this giant wheel must be familiar from photos and postcards.

The London Eye, or simply - the Eye, was formally opened on 31 December 1999, but it was opened to the public only three months later. Since then, it has become a major landmark of the city and has been visited by millions of people. The Eye has 32 air-conditioned passenger capsules. On a clear day (you need to be lucky to have one of those in London:-) you can see for as far as 40 kilometres from the top of the wheel. The capsules are safe and although they look small from the ground they are spacious and heavy. Each capsule can carry 25 people and weighs 10 tonnes!


















Naturally, the capsules don't stand still, they slowly move along the circumference of the wheel as the wheel turns around. Each rotation takes about 30 minutes, which means that a capsule travels at 26cm per second, or 0.9km per hour - twice as fast as a tortoise sprinting. The wheel does not usually stop to take on passengers: the rotation rate is so slow that they can walk on and off the moving capsules at ground level. However, the wheel is stopped when disabled passengers get on and get off.


Trivia about the London Eye:

- Originally, the London Eye had only a temporary permission for 5 years but it was so successful that the permit was made permanent.

- You can reserve a capsule for your wedding or for your hen party or stag party.

- At the time of its construction and opening, The Eye was the tallest observation wheel in the world. Currently, this is the third tallest in the world. It has been surpassed in height by the Star of Nanchang (160 meters) and the Singapore Flyer (165 meters).

- A souvenir photograph of passengers in the capsule is taken automatically (also for security purposes).

- The Eye is owned by the Tussauds Group, the world's second largest leisure group, which also owns the famous Madame Tussauds waxworks among many other attractions.


Watch this video about the view that you can enjoy from the London Eye (Don't panic about your sound settings, this time there is no sound at all, just watch and relax) :




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