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A wheel for the millennium
The London Eye was designed by the architects David Marks and Julia Barfield, with Arup as structural engineers. First called the Millennium Wheel, it was ceremonially opened on 31 December 1999; its first passengers rode on 1 February 2000, and it opened to the public on 9 March 2000.


Raised from the river
The wheel was built in sections and assembled lying flat on piled platforms in the Thames, then lifted upright. It is held by an A-frame on one side only and turns at about 26 centimetres a second, so one rotation takes about 30 minutes.
Thirty-two capsules
Its 32 sealed, air-conditioned capsules each weigh 10 tonnes and carry up to 25 people. They are numbered 1 to 33, with no number 13. The London Eye was the world’s tallest Ferris wheel until 2006, and more than three million people ride it each year.



