I was a bit scared of ferris wheels when I was a kid, and actually didn’t go on one until I went to Vienna when I was in my early 20’s. Sad, I know, but since then I’ve made up for lost time by going on mega-wheels like the London Eye.
Now Singapore has announced plans for the world’s biggest ferris wheel. Opening in March 2008 it will be 165 metres high, slightly taller than the 160-metre high Star of Nanchang in Jiangxi, China, and considerably bigger than the 130-metre high London Eye.
Don’t count on the Singapore Flyer being the biggest for long though, because the same developers are looking at opening a 208-metre high circular attraction in time for the Beijing Olympics in August 2008.
I’m actually kind of glad the first ferris wheel I went on was at Vienna ‘s Prater amusement park. The 65-metre wheel played a starring role in one of my favourite movies, the terrific Before Sunrise starring Ethan Hawke and the luminous Julie Delpy.
Thanks to arjuna_zybcho on Flickr for the pic of the Prater.