Liverpool’s giant observation wheel is officially opened
A SPECTACULAR two- minute firework show heralded the official opening of the new Echo Wheel of Liverpool, on the city’s waterfront.
The £6m wheel, which weighs 365 tonnes, is sited at the entrance to the BT Convention Centre.
It stands on six 30m columns and is lit by 75,000 LED lights.
Nigel Ward, head of global site developments for owners Great City Attractions (GCA), said: “We were trying to come to Liverpool for three years.
“We are confident now we have the right time and the right site, and we are working with the right people.”
GCA is the largest operator of giant observation wheels in the world, with projects as far afield as Brisbane, Berlin and Singapore, although it does not operate the London Eye.
The wheel has planning permission to stay until the end of the year.
But Mr Ward said: “With every wheel we have, when it becomes time to take them down, people do not want them to go. They become an iconic part of the skyline.”
