The London Eye

The London Eye is a cantilevered observation wheel located on the South Bank of the River Thames in London, England, between Westminster Bridge and Hungerford Bridge. Conceived and designed by architects David Marks and Julia Barfield of Marks Barfield Architects, it was created as a landmark for the millennium. The structure was ceremonially opened at the end of 1999 and began carrying passengers in March 2000. Standing 135 metres high, the wheel has 32 enclosed glass capsules, representing the 32 London boroughs, and one complete rotation takes approximately 30 minutes. Originally also known as the Millennium Wheel, the London Eye quickly became one of the most recognisable modern landmarks on the London skyline.

The London Eye has appeared in Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London (2004), Wimbledon (2004), If Only (2004), The League of Gentlemen’s Apocalypse (2005), Doctor Who (2005–) and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007). The attraction has been used for scenes inside its passenger capsules as well as exterior sequences in which the wheel itself becomes part of the story.

In Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London (2004), the London Eye is used for a secret meeting shortly after teenage CIA agent Cody Banks arrives in London. Cody enters one of the capsules with his CIA contacts and receives a briefing about his mission while the wheel carries them above the city. The unusual meeting place makes direct use of the real passenger capsule and also serves as a reference to the famous Ferris-wheel meeting in The Third Man (1949).

In Wimbledon (2004), the London Eye is the setting for a reception attended by players during the Wimbledon Championships. Peter Colt and Lizzie Bradbury are inside one of the capsules when they encounter American tennis star Jake Hammond, a former romantic interest of Lizzie. After Jake insults her, Peter punches him inside the capsule, and Peter and Lizzie quickly leave the attraction together. The sequence was filmed in an actual London Eye capsule, with the Houses of Parliament visible across the Thames.

In If Only (2004), Ian Wyndham takes his girlfriend Samantha Andrews on the London Eye after he is given the opportunity to relive the day on which she originally died in a traffic accident. Knowing what happened the first time, Ian spends the repeated day trying to show Samantha how important she is to him. Their private ride on the London Eye forms part of the romantic day he creates for her before her evening concert.

In The League of Gentlemen’s Apocalypse (2005), Hilary Briss and Herr Lipp meet inside a capsule of the London Eye after characters from the fictional town of Royston Vasey enter the real world. Their conversation takes place high above London, with ordinary tourists sharing the capsule and reacting to the strange pair. The scene deliberately echoes the meeting between Harry Lime and Holly Martins on Vienna’s Wiener Riesenrad in The Third Man (1949).

In Doctor Who (2005–), the London Eye plays an important role in the first episode of the revived series, “Rose” (2005). The Ninth Doctor and Rose Tyler trace a signal through London before Rose realises that the enormous circular structure directly in front of them is the transmitter they are searching for. The Nestene Consciousness is using the London Eye to broadcast the signal controlling the Autons. The Doctor and Rose were filmed arriving beside the real London Eye and running through the surrounding South Bank area. The underground Nestene base supposedly beneath the wheel was filmed separately at a former paper mill in Cardiff.

In Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007), the London Eye becomes the centre of one of the film’s largest action sequences. After the Silver Surfer creates a massive crater in the River Thames, the ground around the wheel begins to collapse and the London Eye starts breaking away from its supports with passengers trapped inside its capsules. Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm use their powers to prevent the wheel from falling and rescue the people aboard. Second-unit footage and background plates were filmed at the real London Eye and surrounding Queen’s Walk, while the collapsing wheel, the Fantastic Four and much of the destruction were created through filming in Vancouver and extensive visual effects.

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