Editing London Eye (section)

==History==

===Design and construction===
[[File:Ojo de Londres, Londres, Inglaterra, 2014-08-07, DD 028.JPG|thumb|250px|Supported by an [[A-frame]] on one side only, the Eye is described by its operators as a [[cantilever]]ed observation wheel.]]

The London Eye was designed by the husband-and-wife team of [[Julia Barfield]] and [[David Marks (architect)|David Marks]] of [[Marks Barfield Architects]].<ref>{{cite book |title=The London Encyclopaedia |last=Hibbert |first=Christopher |publisher=Pan MacMillan |year=2011 |isbn=9780230738782 |location=London |edition=3rd}}</ref><ref name=G2>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2007/aug/30/uk.london |title=London Eye, love at first sight |work=The Guardian |date=31 August 2007 |access-date=7 January 2010 |first=Steve |last=Rose}}</ref> The rim of the Eye is supported by tensioned steel cables<ref name=making>{{cite web |url=http://www.londoneye.com/AboutUs/MakingTheLondonEye/Default.aspx |title=Making of The London Eye |publisher=Londoneye.com |access-date=21 May 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140521173640/http://www.londoneye.com/AboutUs/MakingTheLondonEye/Default.aspx |archive-date=21 May 2014}}</ref> and resembles a huge spoked [[bicycle wheel]]. The lighting was re-done with [[Light-emitting diode|LED]] lighting from [[Color Kinetics]] in December 2006 to allow digital control of the lights as opposed to the manual replacement of [[color gel|gels]] over fluorescent tubes.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.colorkinetics.com/global/showcase/londoneye |title=London Eye |publisher=Color Kinetics |access-date=17 April 2025}}</ref>

[[Mace (construction company)|Mace]] was responsible for construction management, with Hollandia as the main steelwork contractor and [[Tilbury Douglas]] as the civil contractor. Consulting engineers Tony Gee & Partners designed the foundation works while Beckett Rankine designed the marine works.<ref>{{Cite web |title=London Eye Pier Design |url=https://beckettrankine.com/PS/10039/9730_London_Eye_Pier_Design.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130616075448/http://www.beckettrankine.com/PS/10039/9730_London_Eye_Pier_Design.pdf |archive-date=16 June 2013 |website=Beckett Rankine}}</ref>

Nathaniel Lichfield and Partners assisted [[The Tussauds Group]] in obtaining planning and listed building consent to alter the wall on the [[South Bank]] of the Thames. They also examined and reported on the implications of a [[Section 106 agreement]] attached to the original contract, and also prepared planning and listed building consent applications for the permanent retention of the attraction, which involved the co-ordination of an Environmental Statement and the production of a planning supporting statement detailing the reasons for its retention.<ref>{{cite web |title=The London Eye |url=http://www.nlpplanning.com/projects.php?id=3 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070321074845/http://www.nlpplanning.com/projects.php?id=3 |archive-date=21 March 2007 |access-date=7 January 2010 |publisher=Nathaniel Lichfield and Partners}}</ref>
[[File:Hub of the Eye - geograph.org.uk - 1409599.jpg|thumb|250px|left|The spindle, hub, and tensioned cables that support the rim]]

The wheel was constructed in sections which were floated up the Thames on barges and assembled lying flat on piled platforms in the river. Once the wheel was complete it was lifted into an upright position by a [[strand jack]] system made by [[Enerpac]].<ref>[http://www.enerpac.com/en-us/integrated-solutions-imperial/london-eye Enerpac strand jacks lift London Eye] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150627002852/http://www.enerpac.com/en-us/projects/markets/buildings-and-stadiums-0/london-eye |date=27 June 2015 }}. Enerpac.com. Retrieved 6 February 2012.</ref> It was first raised at 2&nbsp;degrees per hour until it reached 65&nbsp;degrees, then left in that position for a week while engineers prepared for the second phase of the lift.

The project was European with major components coming from six countries: the steel was supplied from the UK and fabricated in the Netherlands by Hollandia, the cables came from Italy, the bearings came from Germany (FAG/Schaeffler Group), the spindle and hub were cast in the Czech Republic, the capsules were made by [[Poma]] in France (and the glass for these came from Italy), and the electrical components from the UK.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1680/cien.2001.144.2.60 |title=Building the British Airways London Eye |journal=Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Civil Engineering |volume=144 |issue=2 |pages=60–72 |year=2001 |last2=Thompson |first2=N. |last1=Mann |first1=A. P. |last3=Smits |first3=M.}}</ref>

===Opening===
The London Eye was formally opened by the Prime Minister [[Tony Blair]] on 31 December 1999, but did not open to the paying public until 9 March 2000 because of a capsule clutch problem.<ref name=cnnbirthday/>

The London Eye was originally intended as a temporary attraction, with a five-year lease. In December 2001, operators submitted an application to [[Lambeth London Borough Council|Lambeth Council]] to give the London Eye permanent status, and the application was granted in July 2002.<ref name='Londonist 2017'>{{cite news |url=https://londonist.com/london/history/london-eye-trivia |publisher=[[Londonist]] |title=11 Fun Facts About The London Eye |last=Craig |first=Zoe |date=17 January 2017 |access-date=10 October 2018}}</ref><ref name='BBC 2001'>{{cite news |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/1701602.stm |title=London Eye aims to go permanent |date=10 December 2001 |access-date=10 October 2018}}</ref><ref name='BBC 2002'>{{cite news |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/2132042.stm |title=London Eye 'to stay' |date=16 July 2002 |access-date=17 April 2025}}</ref>

=== Southbank Centre dispute ===
In May 2005, there were reports of a leaked letter showing that the [[Southbank Centre]] (SBC)—owners of part of the land on which the struts of the Eye are located—had served a notice to quit on the attraction along with a demand for an increase in rent from £65,000<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2005-10-27 |title=London Eye loses rent challenge |url=https://www.thetimes.com/travel/advice/london-eye-loses-rent-challenge-qkpnfpprkv7 |access-date=2025-04-17 |website=The Times |language=en}}</ref> per year to £2.5&nbsp;million{{Failed verification|date=April 2025}}, which the operator rejected as unaffordable.<ref name=":2">{{cite news |date=20 May 2005 |title=London Eye given eviction notice |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4564115.stm |access-date=7 January 2010 |work=BBC News}}</ref>

Mayor [[Ken Livingstone]] pledged that if the dispute was not resolved he would ask the [[London Development Agency]] to issue a [[compulsory purchase order]].<ref>{{cite news |date=25 May 2005 |title=Mayor's 'prat' jibe over Eye row |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4581033.stm |access-date=7 January 2010 |work=BBC News}}</ref> The land in question is a small part of the [[Jubilee Gardens, Lambeth|Jubilee Gardens]], which was given to the SBC for £1 when the [[Greater London Council]] was broken up.<ref name=":2" />

In February 2006, after a request for [[Judicial review in English law|judicial review]] was refused,<ref name=":1" /> a new 25-year lease was agreed under which the SBC would receive a percentage of the London Eye's turnover, with a minimum of £500,000 per year.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=13 February 2006 |title=Marks Barfield sell stake in the London Eye |url=https://www.building.co.uk/news/marks-barfield-sell-stake-in-the-london-eye/3062693.article |access-date=2025-04-17 |website=[[Building (magazine)|Building]] |language=en}}</ref>

=== Change of ownership ===
Architects [[Marks Barfield]], the Tussauds Group, and [[British Airways]] were the original owners of the London Eye.<ref name=":3">{{cite news |last=Rose |first=Steve |date=27 March 2006 |title=Towering ambition |url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2006/mar/27/architecture.communities |access-date=16 January 2017 |newspaper=The Guardian |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> Tussauds announced the acquisition of British Airways' share in 2005, then Marks Barfield's in 2006.<ref name=":0">{{cite news |date=6 March 2007 |title=Blackstone to buy Tussauds' parent |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-mar-06-fi-wax6-story.html |access-date=16 January 2017 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |issn=0458-3035 |agency=Reuters}}</ref><ref name=":3" /> The purchase gave Tussauds sole ownership and resolved debt owed to British Airways for construction costs, which stood at more than £175&nbsp;million and had been charged at an interest rate of 25% per annum.<ref>{{cite news |last=Marriner |first=Cosima |date=11 November 2005 |title=BA sells stake in London Eye to Tussauds for £95m |url=https://www.theguardian.com/ba/story/0,13772,1640224,00.html |access-date=7 January 2010 |work=The Guardian}}</ref> Tussauds was later merged with [[Merlin Entertainments]].<ref>{{cite news |date=17 July 2007 |title=Merlin conjures up leaseback deal |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/2812377/Merlin-conjures-up-leaseback-deal.html |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/2812377/Merlin-conjures-up-leaseback-deal.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |work=The Daily Telegraph}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Cho |first=David |date=6 March 2007 |title=Blackstone Buys Madame Tussauds Chain |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/05/AR2007030501369.html |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> 

=== Continued operations ===
In 2009, a [[4D film|4D cinema]] was added to the attraction.<ref name="4D Experience">{{cite web |title=A new eye on London |url=http://www.londoneye.com/NewsAndEvents/News/New_Eye_London/default.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090817013811/http://www.londoneye.com/NewsAndEvents/News/New_Eye_London/default.aspx |archive-date=17 August 2009 |publisher=London Eye |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

{{As of|2025}}, the attraction has carried over 85 million passengers.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-03-06 |title=London Eye at 25: The wheel that nearly wasn't |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c62x8x8r49eo |access-date=2025-04-17 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref>