London Eye at 25. Origins, design, construction and Millennium Eve celebration.

The London Eye is 25. In 1995 many people - politicians, media and Londoners - thought it a silly idea - a big fairground ride in the middle of London. Jeremy Corbyn, then an MP, called it "ludicrous".
Most thought it would simply go away but few knew of the determination and brilliance of the married David Marks and Julia Barfield - architects - and their supporters. However, one of the unsung heroes, without whom it is likely to have failed, is Bob Ayling - then Chief Executive of British Airways - who provided development funding and helped guide it through. Another is John Gummer - then Environment Secretary 1993 - 97 - who resisted pleas to "call in" the planning application so Central Government could kill it. He is not featured here.
The first section of this presentation, with colleagues in 1995 we produced a promotional video with some advanced 3D computer animations to help Marks Barfield Architects raise awareness and show it was not a "fairground ride" but a great way to view London from
500 ft. It would be good for tourism and a spectacular, new, modern icon for the Capital. The second part is a "review" made in 2000 of the 5 years design and build leading up to Millennium Eve 1999 including material from my BBC film - The Biggest Wheel in the World.
Since then the London Eye has been truly an astonishing success.
See the following link for more extracts from the BBC film - 28 minutes:
   • London Eye. The story behind its design an...  
Or the full film - 51 minutes - at the following link
   • London Eye - The Biggest Wheel in the World.  

Happy Birthday.