London Eye, formerly Millennium Wheel has an overall height of 443 feet (135 metres), the London Eye was the worlds tallest Ferris wheel from 1999, when it was built, until 2006, when it was surpassed by the Star of Nanchang, in China.
Originally scheduled to be dismantled after five years, it was kept in place because of continued popularity. In 2006 a decorative LED lighting system was installed in order to make the wheel more prominent after dark.
It wasnt Londons first big wheel - The London Eye was preceded by The Great Wheel, a ferris wheel built for the Empire of India Exhibition at Earls Court.
With more than 3.75m visitors annually, The London Eye is the most popular paid tourist attraction in the UK.
The wheel was developed and constructed in The Netherlands from UK steel, with cables from Italy, bearings from Germany, and the iron spindle and hub were cast in the Skoda factory in the Czech Republic.
