London Eye - History

History

The London Eye was formally opened by the then Prime Minister, Tony Blair, on 31 December 1999, although it was not opened to the public until 9 March 2000 because of technical problems. Since its opening, the Eye has become a major landmark and tourist attraction.

Since 1 January 2005, the Eye has been the focal point of London's New Year celebrations, with 10-minute displays taking place involving fireworks fired from the wheel itself.

In 2006 the Tussauds Group bought out the other two joint owners, British Airways and the Marks Barfield family (the lead architects). Following Merlin Entertainments' purchase of the Tussauds Group in 2007, it now owns 100% of the Eye. British Airways continued its brand association, but from the beginning of 2008 the name 'British Airways' was dropped from the logo.

On 12 August 2009 the London Eye saw another rebrand, this time being called "The Merlin Entertainments London Eye" to show Merlin Entertainments' ownership. A new logo was designed for the attraction—this time taking the actual form of an eye made out of London's famous landmarks. This also came at the time when the new Merlin Entertainments London Eye 4D Experience preflight show was launched underneath the ticket centre in County Hall.

During the bidding process of the 2012 Olympic Games, the London bid organisers announced the Olympic emblem would be attached to the Eye for the duration of the 2012 Summer Olympics.

On 5 June 2008 it was announced that 30 million people had ridden the London Eye since its opening in March 2000.

In 2009 Merlin Entertainments opened a preflight 4D Experience at The London Eye, which is included in the ticket price. The newly refurbished ticket hall and 4D cinema experience was designed by architect Kay Elliott working with Merlin Studios project designer Craig Sciba. Merlin Studios later appointed Simex-Iwerks as the 4D theatre hardware specialists. The film was written and directed by 3D director Julian Napier and 3D produced by Phil Streather. The same year the first stage of a £12.5 million capsule upgrade started. Each capsule was taken down and floated down the river to Tilbury Docks in Essex.

In January 2011, a lighting-up ceremony marked the start of a three-year deal between nuclear company EDF Energy and Merlin Entertainment. Merlin said EDF would help it reduce the London Eye's overall carbon footprint using its expertise as the UK's largest producer of low-carbon electricity.