The London Eye is a ferris wheel located on the south bank of the river Thames next to Westminster Bridge. When completed in 1999, it was the tallest Ferris wheel in the world, a record it lost in 2006. At 135m high, the wheel is still the tallest Ferris wheel in Europe and second only to the Shard as a high level viewing platform.
The eye was a millenium project, officially opened on 31st December 1999 but not opened to the public until 9th March the following year. It took 7 years to design and build. The wheel was assembled flat on piers built into the river. Once complete, over a period of several weeks, the wheel was raised into its vertical position.
At nearly 4 million visitors per year, it is the most popular paid for visitor attraction in the UK.
One rotation of the wheel takes 30 minutes with each capsule holding a maximum of 25 people. The wheel normally turns continuosly, only being stopped to allow elderly or disabled passengers to board or leave the pods.
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