Although specially constructed to celebrate the entry into a new Millennium and therefore designed to be temporary landmarks, a decade later both the 'Wheel' and the 'Dome' are proving to be resilient and extremely popular London attractions.
Formerly known as the Millennium Wheel, the London Eye is now the UK's top paid-for attraction, taking over from the previous London favourite, the waxworks of Madame Tussauds. Dangling over the River Thames almost opposite the Houses of Parliament, the London Eye was opened on 31st December 1999 by Prime Minister Tony Blair, but embarrassingly suffered several months of technical problems before re-opening to the public during March 2000.
At the time the delays provided fuel for the fire for those who criticised the government's public expenditure on such Millennium icons. However, despite those early problems the Wheel - renamed the London Eye in 2005 - has thrived and in June 2008 owners Merlin Entertainment Company revealed that 30million passengers had ridden the Eye since opening and that visitor numbers were growing to average 3.5million per year. With views over London stretching as far as 40 miles, the Eye is aptly named, and is a central London landmark.
Also subject to criticism at the turn of the last century and considered the biggest of white elephants at the time of its construction, the Millennium Dome is now trading as ultra-successful The O2. The newly renamed venue was catapulted into the world's consciousness during December 2007 when its 20,000 seat central arena hosted the most-awaited rock band comeback of all time - the reunion of Seventies superstars Led Zeppelin.
Since then The 02 has hosted numerous concerts from pop and rock superstars, NBA Basketball, NHL Ice Hockey, various exhibitions and during the summer of 2009 another musical giant, Michael Jackson, will be staging a staggering 50 concerts at the venue; all sell-outs and a definite boost for hotels in London. Many ticket holders are coming from foreign shores so they will be staying at least one night in the capital before witnessing Jackson deliver his much-awaited stage show.
Jackson will be performing in the main arena of The 02 but the venue - in a remarkable transformation - now incorporates a multi-screen cinema, a handful of smaller gig venues, restaurants, bars and lounges and has become the most high profile venue in London in less than two years. Being easily accessible from most parts of London most certainly helps, but owners the AEG group have been the driving force behind the transformation and are determined to continue to deliver the big names to the venue for the foreseeable future.
Although both the Millennium Wheel and the Dome were mired in controversy at the beginning, both are most definitely responsible for attracting visitors in their millions to London - from all corners of the globe!
Formerly known as the Millennium Wheel, the London Eye is now the UK's top paid-for attraction, taking over from the previous London favourite, the waxworks of Madame Tussauds. Dangling over the River Thames almost opposite the Houses of Parliament, the London Eye was opened on 31st December 1999 by Prime Minister Tony Blair, but embarrassingly suffered several months of technical problems before re-opening to the public during March 2000.
At the time the delays provided fuel for the fire for those who criticised the government's public expenditure on such Millennium icons. However, despite those early problems the Wheel - renamed the London Eye in 2005 - has thrived and in June 2008 owners Merlin Entertainment Company revealed that 30million passengers had ridden the Eye since opening and that visitor numbers were growing to average 3.5million per year. With views over London stretching as far as 40 miles, the Eye is aptly named, and is a central London landmark.
Also subject to criticism at the turn of the last century and considered the biggest of white elephants at the time of its construction, the Millennium Dome is now trading as ultra-successful The O2. The newly renamed venue was catapulted into the world's consciousness during December 2007 when its 20,000 seat central arena hosted the most-awaited rock band comeback of all time - the reunion of Seventies superstars Led Zeppelin.
Since then The 02 has hosted numerous concerts from pop and rock superstars, NBA Basketball, NHL Ice Hockey, various exhibitions and during the summer of 2009 another musical giant, Michael Jackson, will be staging a staggering 50 concerts at the venue; all sell-outs and a definite boost for hotels in London. Many ticket holders are coming from foreign shores so they will be staying at least one night in the capital before witnessing Jackson deliver his much-awaited stage show.
Jackson will be performing in the main arena of The 02 but the venue - in a remarkable transformation - now incorporates a multi-screen cinema, a handful of smaller gig venues, restaurants, bars and lounges and has become the most high profile venue in London in less than two years. Being easily accessible from most parts of London most certainly helps, but owners the AEG group have been the driving force behind the transformation and are determined to continue to deliver the big names to the venue for the foreseeable future.
Although both the Millennium Wheel and the Dome were mired in controversy at the beginning, both are most definitely responsible for attracting visitors in their millions to London - from all corners of the globe!
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