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Did you ever want to see Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey in 15 minutes? Then BA London Eye, is the one for you.
British Airways London Eye, formerly called as the Millennium Wheel, is situated on the south bank of the River Thames on the Jubilee Gardens. It is situated between Westminster Bridge and Hungerford Footbridge in Lambeth and near to(比邻) Old Country Building. It stands opposite to Houses of Parliament.
It started with a vision of Architect couple David Marks and Julia Barfields, who had competed for millennium(千禧年) ideas contest conducted by Sunday Times, a British newspaper in 1993 to welcome year 2000 splendidly. Regrettably, the contest was scrapped, but the couple persisted in their dream project by forming a company for this undertaking, eventually grabbing the attention of Evening Standard, another British newspaper. British Airways, after noticing this widely publicized article, agreed to fund, foreseeing the vital contribution of this project to London's skyline and its tourism, giving a spectacular(壮观的) view of this attractive city that was otherwise not visible to the Londoners.
The entire construction looks like a giant cycle wheel, with a diameter of 135 m (443 ft) and weighing 1,700 tons of steel and 2,000 tons at the foundation reaching almost 30 m deep! It is the largest observation wheel built so far, making even Statue of Liberty, Big Ben，St. Paul's Cathedral, look up to it. It is the 4th highest structure in London. Canary Wharf Towers, BT Tower and Tower 42 are the higher three.
The whole structure was designed in parts in various countries, later fully assembled(组装) on Thames bank.
