47-746: The London Eye (Waterloo) Pier is directly in front of the London Eye ferris wheel on the South Bank of the River Thames in Central London , England . It was opened as the Waterloo Millennium Pier in 2000. It is served by various river transport and cruise operators. It should not be confused with the former Waterloo Police Pier , on the opposite side of the river on Victoria Embankment next to Waterloo Bridge , which has since been renamed
94-555: A 33% stake, along with British Airways and Marks Barfield . The site was managed by Tussauds and soon became one of the United Kingdom's most popular attractions. Tussauds continued to look for acquisitions in Europe and in 2002 opted to buy Heide Park in Soltau, Germany . The park was among the country's largest, and helped to make Tussauds one of the most popular attraction groups. In
141-460: A Tussauds attraction after the buyout. This sector expanded quickly throughout the year with the purchase of Warwick Castle . Poor profits at Chessington Zoo led the group to reopen the site as Chessington World of Adventures . This incorporated the animals from the zoo alongside the theme park. This combination enabled visitor figures to triple. In 1989, the Tussauds Group sold Wookey Hole. In
188-527: A lighting-up ceremony marked the start of a three-year deal between EDF Energy and Merlin Entertainments. Coca-Cola began to sponsor the London Eye from January 2015. On the day the sponsorship was announced the London Eye was lit in red. In February 2020, lastminute.com replaced Coca-Cola as the sponsor. Grammy Award-winning singer Meghan Trainor performed at the launch party on a boat overlooking
235-560: A notice to quit on the attraction along with a demand for an increase in rent from £64,000 per year to £2.5 million, which the operators rejected as unaffordable. On 25 May 2005, London mayor Ken Livingstone vowed that the landmark would remain in London. He also pledged that if the dispute was not resolved he would use his powers to ask the London Development Agency to issue a compulsory purchase order . The land in question
282-515: A separate entity ceased to exist. About the merger, the chief executive of Merlin Entertainment , Nick Varney, said that the combination of the two groups, as well as their audiences, would place the new company in the global market. He also believed that both groups expertise in the management business would benefit the company too. Peter Phillipson, the chief executive of the Tussauds group added that
329-404: A statement, the company said that it had offered to buy out the other two shareholders in 2003, and again in 2004, believing that one primary shareholder would be able to negotiate better terms on their debt repayments. In November 2005, the company bought British Airways’ stake in the London Eye for £95 million. The other shareholder, Marks Barfield, also offered to buy British Airways' stake but
376-490: A temporary attraction, with a five-year lease. In December 2001, operators submitted an application to Lambeth Council to give the London Eye permanent status, and the application was granted in July 2002. On 5 June 2008, it was announced that 30 million people had ridden the London Eye since it opened. The wheel's 32 sealed and air-conditioned ovoidal passenger capsules, designed and supplied by Poma , are attached to
423-421: A theoretical capacity of 1,600 passengers per hour. It does not usually stop to take on passengers; the rotation rate is slow enough to allow passengers to walk on and off the moving capsules at ground level. It is stopped to allow disabled or elderly passengers time to embark and disembark safely. In 2009, the first stage of a £12.5 million capsule upgrade began. Each capsule was taken down and floated down
470-578: Is Waterloo , although Charing Cross , Embankment , and Westminster are also within easy walking distance. Connection with National Rail services is made at London Waterloo station and London Waterloo East station . London River Services operated by Thames Clippers and City Cruises stop at the London Eye Pier . For other quiescent (incomplete, delayed, stalled, cancelled, failed, or abandoned) proposals, see: Ferris wheel#Quiescent proposals The Tussauds Group The Tussauds Group
517-553: Is 135 metres (443 ft) tall and the wheel has a diameter of 120 metres (394 ft). When it opened to the public in 2000 it was the world's tallest Ferris wheel . Its height was surpassed by the 160 metres (525 ft) Star of Nanchang in 2006, the 165 metres (541 ft) Singapore Flyer in 2008, the 167 metres (548 ft) High Roller ( Las Vegas ) in 2014, and the 250 metres (820 ft) Ain Dubai in 2021. Supported by an A-frame on one side only, unlike these taller examples,
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#1732844266291564-697: Is a small part of the Jubilee Gardens , which was given to the SBC for £1 when the Greater London Council was broken up. The South Bank Centre and the British Airways London Eye agreed on a 25-year lease on 8 February 2006 after a judicial review over the rent dispute. The lease agreement meant that the South Bank Centre, a publicly funded charity, would receive at least £500,000 a year from
611-842: The Tower Lifeboat Station and has been the base for the RNLI 's Thames lifeboat service since 2006. The pier was designed by Beckett Rankine and Marks Barfield Architects and built by Tilbury Douglas , principally to act as a collision protection system for the London Eye. It was one of five new piers opened in 2000 on the Thames funded by the Millennium Commission as part of the Thames 2000 project (the others being Blackfriars Millennium Pier , Millbank Millennium Pier , Tower Millennium Pier , and Westminster Millennium Pier ), as part of an integrated transport and regeneration strategy for
658-512: The 2007 Pritzker Architecture Prize , wrote of the London Eye in a book about the project: The Eye has done for London what the Eiffel Tower did for Paris, which is to give it a symbol and to let people climb above the city and look back down on it. Not just specialists or rich people, but everybody. That's the beauty of it: it is public and accessible, and it is in a great position at the heart of London. The nearest London Underground station
705-482: The British Isles with her work as she was prevented from returning to France due to the war between Britain and France. After travelling with her models, Tussauds bought her first property in London's Baker Street in 1835, for the purpose of displaying her wax figures. The large property allowed her to display the exhibits that she used on tour as well as create new models and exhibitions. Marie Tussaud died in 1850 and
752-454: The Eye is described by its operators as "the world's tallest cantilevered observation wheel". The Eye offered the highest public viewing point in London until it was superseded by the 245-metre-high (804 ft) observation deck on the 72nd floor of The Shard in early 2013. The London Eye adjoins the western end of Jubilee Gardens (previously the site of the former Dome of Discovery ), on
799-408: The London Eye, hoping to buy out British Airways. In 2004, one of the shareholders of the London Eye, Marks Barfield , accused the Tussauds group of purposefully opposing a refinancing offer in order to gain full control of the wheel. The attraction made a trading profit, but the company had 25% interest payments on a debt that arose from a £56 million loan from British Airways in 1999. By this point
846-574: The London Eye. In March 2020, the wheel was illuminated blue every Thursday at 8pm in support of the National Health Service as part of the ‘ Clap for our Carers ’ campaign created during the COVID-19 pandemic . On 20 May 2005, there were reports of a leaked letter showing that the South Bank Centre (SBC)—owners of part of the land on which the struts of the Eye are located—had served
893-610: The South Bank of the River Thames between Westminster Bridge and Hungerford Bridge beside County Hall , in the London Borough of Lambeth . The nearest tube station is Waterloo . The London Eye was designed by the husband-and-wife team of Julia Barfield and David Marks of Marks Barfield Architects . Mace was responsible for construction management, with Hollandia as the main steelwork contractor and Tilbury Douglas as
940-565: The Thames led by London's Cross River Partnership . The pier is served by various services including: London Eye The London Eye , or the Millennium Wheel , is a cantilevered observation wheel on the South Bank of the River Thames in London. It is Europe's tallest cantilevered observation wheel, and the most popular paid tourist attraction in the United Kingdom with over three million visitors annually. It has been featured numerous times in popular culture. The structure
987-510: The attraction, the status of which is secured for the foreseeable future. Tussauds also announced the acquisition of the entire one-third interests of British Airways and Marks Barfield in the Eye as well as the outstanding debt to BA. These agreements gave Tussauds 100% ownership and resolved the debt from the Eye's construction loan from British Airways, which stood at more than £150 million by mid-2005 and had been charging an interest rate of 25% per annum. Sir Richard Rogers , winner of
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#17328442662911034-555: 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". A refurbished ticket hall and 4D cinema experience were designed by architect Kay Elliott working with project designer Craig Sciba, and Simex-Iwerks as the 4D theatre hardware specialists. The film was written and directed by Julian Napier and produced by Phil Streather. In January 2011,
1081-528: The business was left to her two sons. Her grandchildren then moved the business to a permanent residence in Marylebone Road . In 1926, Madame Tussauds became a limited company. In the 1960s, Tussauds was looking to expand beyond the United Kingdom and opened their first international exhibition in Amsterdam. This exhibition featured different wax figures to those on show in London. The Dutch exhibition moved to
1128-407: The civil contractor. Consulting engineers Tony Gee & Partners designed the foundation works while Beckett Rankine designed the marine works. Nathaniel Lichfield and Partners assisted The Tussauds Group in obtaining planning and listed building consent to alter the wall on the South Bank of the Thames. They also examined and reported on the implications of a Section 106 agreement attached to
1175-526: The company in 2007, thus becoming the world's second largest leisure group after Disney . The physician, Philippe Curtius began to create organs and biological structures from wax. After creating organs, Curtius went on to recreate notable people in society out of the medium too. Curtius put these models on display to the public in Berne, Switzerland where they caught the attention of the French royal family. In 1765,
1222-555: The company liked Hong Kong's location and established a permanent exhibition in the Peak Tower. The Tussauds group moved into the European market in 1995, with a 40% stake in a new £300 million theme park, Port Aventura in Spain . Tussauds was in charge of the development as they were the primary shareholder. The new development quickly bought in 2.7 million new visitors annually. The 40% stake
1269-527: The company to look for another exhibition location in the United States. In 2000, the company opened a site in New York on 42nd Street. In 1999, after being part of Pearson for twenty years, Charterhouse Development Capital acquired the group. The new company bought in new management and sought to increase profits whilst continuing the company's growth. In 2000, the London Eye launched, in which Tussauds had
1316-455: The debt had accumulated to be around £130 million. David Marks, the director at Marks Barfield , said that British Airways supported the idea of refinancing the London Eye but the Tussauds group blocked the deal at every opportunity. Marks went on to comment that without a refinancing deal the London Eye would not have long-term financial security in the future as it would not be able to develop as an attraction. The company also went on to say that
1363-590: The eight London Royal parks . Marks Barfield (the lead architects), The Tussauds Group, and British Airways were the original owners of the London Eye. Tussauds bought out British Airways' stake in 2005 and then Marks Barfield's stake in 2006 to become sole owner. In May 2007, the Blackstone Group purchased The Tussauds Group which was then the owner of the Eye; Tussauds was merged with Blackstone's Merlin Entertainments and disappeared as an entity. British Airways continued its brand association, but from
1410-563: The external circumference of the wheel and rotated by electric motors. The capsules are numbered from 1 to 33, excluding number 13 for superstitious reasons . Each of the 10-tonne (11-short-ton) capsules represents one of the London Boroughs , and holds up to 25 people, who are free to walk around inside the capsule, though seating is provided. The wheel rotates at 26 cm (10 in) per second (about 0.9 km/h or 0.6 mph) so that one revolution takes about 30 minutes, giving
1457-658: The latter chose the Tussauds group as they felt that their offer was more beneficial for the company's shareholders. In February 2006, the group began negotiations to buy the final 33% of the attraction from Marks Barfield for up to £80 million. In 2005, the Tussauds group was sold to Dubai International Capital , a branch of the government that deals with investment, for £800 million ($ 1.5 billion). In May 2007, The Blackstone Group purchased The Tussauds Group for US$ 1.9 billion and merged it into Merlin Entertainments with management by Merlin. Dubai International Capital then held 20% of Merlin Entertainment. The Tussauds Group as
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1504-520: The more central location of Dam Square in 1991. The company made its first acquisition with Wookey Hole Caves and Mill in Somerset and in 1976 bought Tolgus tin plant in Cornwall . In 1978, Madame Tussauds was acquired by S. Pearson and Son, now Pearson PLC . The company had been seeking to expand beyond their own attractions before acquiring the group. Chessington Zoo was already owned by Pearson and became
1551-451: The new group would be able to help the developments of Tussauds theme parks and attractions as well as increase the number of Madame Tussauds around the world. On 17 July 2007, Madame Tussauds was sold to private investor Nick Leslau and his investment firm Prestbury under a sale and leaseback agreement. It is said that the company would be using the money from the sale for investment purposes and to pay off some outstanding debts. Although
1598-474: The nineties, with renovations costing £1 million. The increase in the group's attractions as well as management portfolio meant that in 1992 the company moved to larger headquarters. In 1997, Madame Tussauds reintroduced travelling exhibitions. The tour started in Melbourne, Australia, before moving on to Sydney. After touring Australia, the site travelled to Singapore in 1999 then on to Hong Kong in 2000. However,
1645-415: The original contract, and also prepared planning and listed building consent applications for the permanent retention of the attraction, which involved the co-ordination of an Environmental Statement and the production of a planning supporting statement detailing the reasons for its retention. The rim of the Eye is supported by tensioned steel cables and resembles a huge spoked bicycle wheel . The lighting
1692-546: The river to Tilbury Docks in Essex. On 2 June 2013, a passenger capsule was named the Coronation Capsule to mark the 60th anniversary of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II . In March 2020, the London Eye celebrated its 20th birthday by turning several of its pods into experiences themed around London. The experiences included a pub in a capsule, a west end theatre pod and a garden party with flower arrangements to represent
1739-470: The royal family invited Curtius to display his exhibits in Paris. When moving to Paris, Curtius bought with him a housekeeper and her daughter, Marie Grosholtz , who Curtius then took on as an apprentice of his work. Under Curtius’ teaching, Marie became renowned for her modelling, completing portraits of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Voltaire. This led to Marie being invited to the royal court at Versailles where she
1786-429: The running costs of the London Eye and the large debt repayments prevented the company from making developments at the attraction that would cost £4 million. The company had hoped to redevelop a gift shop and the ticketing system at the London Eye but without refinancing it would not be able to complete them. The Tussauds group denied blocking any deals, in turn suggesting that no alternative methods had been put forward. In
1833-672: The same year, the company shut down the Rock Circus exhibition in the London Pavilion because of falling visitor figures. Charterhouse Development Capital allowed the company to invest £300 million into its attractions which helped increase profits by £185 million as of 2002. The Tussauds group launched a new £100 million investment plan which led to the development of a new £40 million themed hotel, at Alton Towers. The themed hotel, Splash Landings, opened in 2003. Tussauds and Charterhouse Development Capital then looked to increase its stake in
1880-458: The same year, they opened the Rock Circus in the London Pavilion which focused on a rock and roll theme. Several other small acquisitions were made before 1990. In 1990, the company bought Alton Towers for £60 million. The park had initially been developed as an American style amusement park but was in need of renovation by the end of the eighties. After Tussauds took over Alton Towers, it
1927-633: The spindle and hub were cast in the Czech Republic, the capsules were made by Poma in France (and the glass for these came from Italy), and the electrical components from the UK. The London Eye was formally opened by the Prime Minister Tony Blair on 31 December 1999, but did not open to the paying public until 9 March 2000 because of a capsule clutch problem. The London Eye was originally intended as
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1974-839: Was an entertainment company which is now a part of Merlin Entertainments . It was based in Poole, Dorset from where it managed a portfolio of brands and over 50 attractions that included the Madame Tussauds waxworks , Legoland Theme Parks , Legoland Discovery Centres , Sea Life Centres , PortAventura Park in Spain, Gardaland in Italy, Heide Park Resort in Germany, The Dungeons, The London Eye , The Blackpool Tower attractions, The Orlando Eye , Warwick Castle , Alton Towers , Thorpe Park , and Chessington World of Adventures . Merlin Entertainments bought
2021-511: Was employed as a teacher. In 1795, Marie married François Tussaud with whom she had two sons. After the French Revolution in 1789, Marie continued her modelling and made death masks of her deceased ex-employers. Upon the death of Curtius in 1794, Marie inherited his estate, including his properties and his workshop. Overseas interest in the French Revolution led Marie Tussaud to travel to England and display her work there. Tussaud travelled
2068-538: Was first raised at 2 degrees per hour until it reached 65 degrees, then left in that position for a week while engineers prepared for the second phase of the lift. The project was European with major components coming from six countries: the steel was supplied from the UK and fabricated in The Netherlands by the Dutch company Hollandia, the cables came from Italy, the bearings came from Germany (FAG/Schaeffler Group),
2115-489: Was re-done with LED lighting from Color Kinetics in December 2006 to allow digital control of the lights as opposed to the manual replacement of gels over fluorescent tubes. The wheel was constructed in sections which were floated up the Thames on barges and assembled lying flat on piled platforms in the river. Once the wheel was complete it was lifted into an upright position by a strand jack system made by Enerpac . It
2162-399: Was redeveloped into a theme park that intended to challenge the opening of Disneyland Paris . During the mid-nineties, the group continued to expand its theme parks with new attractions at both Warwick Castle and Alton Towers. The Alton Towers expansion included the introduction of the £20 million Alton Towers Hotel in 1996. The Madame Tussauds site in London also underwent development during
2209-584: Was sold in 1998 as the company looked to increase its portfolio in the United Kingdom. Tussauds’ management of Port Aventura ceased with the sale of the property. The money from the sale allowed the company to purchase Thorpe Park , in south-east England. In 1998, the group looked to open a Tussauds site in Las Vegas, with plans to open the exhibition in the Venetian Hotel and Casino complex. The Las Vegas site eventually opened in 1999 to large success, which led
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