Friday, April 12, 2013

An Eye for A View


            People all the over the world should have heard about the London Eye. If you haven't, I shall tell you. Although it is not the tallest Ferris Wheel in the world, The London Eye is still easily the largest one ever built. This structure is standing at 443 feet tall with the wheel diameter of 394ft! If you like riding on Ferris Wheels or if you like being in high places, this one is an absolute must to go on! This giant Wheel is located in The United Kingdom's right next to Big Ben hence the name London Eye. You literally can see everything to the horizon at the toppest peak of the wheel!


            The designs of the London eye came from not from just one person, but a whole group of people. These people include, Frank Anatole, Nic Bailey, Steve Chilton, Malcolm Cook, Mark Sparrowhawk, and Julia Barfield and David Marks who were married together. Because this wheel was so large, it was built in sections over floating platforms on the water. Once it was completed, the whole wheel was lifted up to a standing position by a strand jack system prepared by Enerpac. Building this wheel was also an international business because parts for the wheel actually came from sic different countries. United Kingdom supplied the steel and Netherlands had the steel fabricated, cables came from Italy, Germany brought over the Bearings, and the spindle and hub were cast in Czech Republic. This wheel in total has 32 sealed and air conditioned passenger cars for people to enjoy its relaxing rotation and look at the beautiful view of the city. I want to go ride this Ferris Wheel with someone special and have the most romantic time with them. It sounds like a perfect date to go on.
     

The London Eye had lots of interesting history that has happened to it. It was formally opened on December 31, 1999 but wasn't released to the public until march 2009 due to technical problems. Ever since 2005, The London Eye has been made the center for London's New Year's Celebrations. In 2012, The Olympic emblem was portrayed for the rest of the season. In 2008, 30 million people have rode on the Wheel ever since it's opening in 2000. With all these good events happening, there were times when the London Eye was close to shutting down because of financial problems and the people who funds of the wheel stopped funding it unless rent was raised from 64,000 pound to 2.5 million pound per year. I'm really glad the Ferris Wheel wasn't stopped or else I will never be able to get a chance to ride on it.

First thing I am going to do when I have a chance to go to London is to definitely get on The London Eye and experience it personally. I really enjoy being in high places and also really love carnival rides so the world's largest Ferris Wheel is something I definitely must go check out myself!
            

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