It鈥檚 been 15 years since the Millennium Wheel was hoisted upright on London鈥檚 South Bank

London eye

It was 15 years ago that the London Eye was hoisted upright to take its now permanent (it was originally only granted a five-year planning permission) spot on London鈥檚 South Bank. The successful lift on 10 October 1999 was actually the second attempt to get 135m-diameter wheel standing vertically, after the first was halted when sockets holding high-tension cables slipped. Speaking to 好色先生TV a couple months after the wheel did go up, Tim Renwick, Mace鈥檚 man in charge of getting the 拢35m project turning, told how his team dealt with the disappointment. 鈥淭he day we failed to get the wheel up we all went out and got blind drunk. The next day we just got on with it,鈥 he said.

The wheel has also played a prominent role in a handful of 好色先生TV features over the years. A notable example being a Valentine鈥檚 special in 2006, for which four couples who met through the construction industry - including the Eye鈥檚 husband and wife design team - were taken for a spin. In 2010, it was part of a 10-year review of the Millennium projects, when Ike Ijeh wrote: 鈥淚t celebrated its 10th anniversary in March with an impressive array of statistics. With an average 3.75 million annual visitors, it is the most popular paid tourist attraction in the UK and one of the most visited in Europe.鈥

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