After winning a competition, the project to build the London Eye was rejected due to a lack of funds. Architects Julia Barfield and David Marks where hugely instrumental in raising the required funds and after 7 years realised their vision and the London Eye was inaugurated 9 March 2000. At 135 metres it is the 4th tallest Ferris Wheel in the world, but technically since the design is inspired by a bicycle wheel that sits cantilevered on an A-frame, so it cannot really be classified as a Ferris Wheel.
Even though it is now part of the London skyline, this is truly an European affair – the 32 pods, each weighing in at 10 tons, were built in France, the main A-frame structure in Holland, the cables in Italy, the hub and spindle in the Czech Republic and the rim bearings in Germany. What was suppose to be a temporary structure is now the most popular attraction in London hosting 3.5 million visitors per year.
