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As a result, its place is now assured until at least 2027, and London mayor Ken Livingstone recently moved to prevent the South Bank Centre from endangering the Eye’s future by increasing the rent payable on the Eye’s site, memorably describing the SBC chief Lord Hollick as “A complete prat” in the process. At the height of this controversy, it was threatened that the Eye may be sold and moved to Paris, where it was hoped to land a decisive blow in the two cities’ battle to host the 2012 Olympics, a clear demonstration of how powerful an icon the Eye had become.

As if to prove the its success beyond all doubt, a recent industry survey listed the London Eye as the best tourist attraction in the world, beating countless historic sites, not to mention modern buildings and theme parks, to the title. Similarly, its desirability as an icon has been proven by the fact that so many cities have made requests to copy the idea, including Beijing, Toronto, Johannesburg, and inevitably, Las Vegas.

Its status as a landmark, however, does bring with it some rather unusual scenes. David Blaine memorably stood on top of a pod at full height in a stunt reminiscent of that which saw circus performer Madame Solange d`Atalide complete a revolution of the Vienna Reisenrad sitting upon a horse on a cabin roof. Similar, if less well -planned, scenes have come when protestors have decided that bringing the Eye to a standstill would benefit their cause. As a result, riders must go through security procedures that aren’t too dissimilar to those before any other British Airways “flight”.

In many ways, the story of the London Eye fits that of the original Ferris Wheel. Both were initially dismissed as impossible, with many doubting that they could be built, or that the public would be willing to pay for such a ride.

Neither were given any funding, leaving it to the designers to assemble a group of private investors to finance the project.

Both had problems that led to them opening later than anticipated, a cable snapping while attempting to lift the complete Eye structure from its place flat-out over the Thames and onto the hub.

This caused a great deal of embarrassment, as the failure took place in front of the many TV cameras and reporters who had been invited to see the spectacle. As a result, the Eye opened in March 2000, rather than January 1st as planned (thus allowing an Eli type wheel, operating as part of a special celebratory funfair in The Mall, to advertise itself as “The only Ferris Wheel open in London”).

Perhaps the great irony of the London Eye is its operators’ insistence that it be referred to as “Observation Wheel” rather than “Ferris Wheel”, in order to avoid the tacky fairground/theme park connotations that the name “Ferris Wheel” is thought to carry, whereas a century earlier Ferris himself rejected the name “Observation Wheel” because he thought it too vulgar.

Indeed, the FAQ page of the Eye’s website specifically answers “Is it a Ferris Wheel?” in the negative, with the rather ludicrous and deluded rationale that this is because the Eye features “Enclosed cabins” and “A-frame design”, an argument that rather flounders when you notice those very features on Ferris’s own design.

However the owners wish us to describe it, it is difficult not to be impressed when you stand before the London Eye. Not only does it look singularly impressive, with its gleaming white structure, and web of support “spokes”, and slender support structure; but its architectural impact is quite stunning, being a symbol of how it is possible to combine the modern and the traditional in such a way as to be beneficial to both.

Today, the Eye seems to have few critics, and has single-handedly allowed the Ferris Wheel transcend the rest of the amusement industry and become one of the world’s most impressive and recognisable forms of architecture. From a rider’s perspective, probably the most impressive and innovative feature is that the pods are fixed to the outside of the wheel, giving a view from the top that is uncluttered by the wheel’s structure.

With the success of the London Eye, other cities were keen to replicate the idea. At this point, Paris once again entered the fray, building the world’s largest portable wheel, “Roue De Paris”, in the Place de la Concorde. Originally intended to stay for the duration of 2000, it in fact stayed until January 2002, when mayor Bertrand Delanoe instigated a court action to have it removed, claiming that it had outstayed its welcome and had become a blight on the historic square. 

The argument caused national debate, with the majority of people seemingly in favour of keeping the wheel. Owner Marcel Campion was keen to keep it in place, even offering to donate 20% of its profits to charity if it were allowed to stay. This failed to sway the courts, who ordered it come down. Rather amusingly, Campion suggested that the dismantling could take several months, a spurious claim given that Roue De Paris was identical to the “Bellevue” wheel that the Bruch family constantly tours on the German fair circuit.

Despite the mayor offering to find the wheel another site in the city, Campion eventually sold the wheel to World Tourist Attractions, a new company founded by the British Shipley family (owners of a children’s theme park in Stourport-on-Severn, and a nationwide chain of amusement arcades), and fronted by Elliott Hall, the UK showman previously famed for giving the country its first Mondial Top Scan, “Top Buzz”.

For Christmas 2003, World Tourist Attractions brought the wheel across the channel, and to Birmingham’s Centenary Square, where despite keeping its “Roue De Paris” signage, it would be known simply as “The Wheel of Birmingham”. The decision to build the wheel in the city was received with surprisingly little controversy, partly because the council had already announced tentative plans for a possible permanent wheel on the other side of the city, and saw this is a way of testing the idea’s popularity. Continues...