The Wheel of Birmingham or Birmingham Wheel was a series of transportable

Ferris wheel A Ferris wheel (also called a Giant Wheel or an observation wheel) is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating upright wheel with multiple passenger-carrying components (commonly referred to as passenger cars, cabins, tubs, gondolas, capsules ...

installations at

Centenary Square Centenary Square is a public square on the north side of Broad Street in Birmingham, England, named in 1989 to commemorate the centenary of Birmingham achieving city status. The area was an industrial area of small workshops and canal wharves ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. These have been landmarks in central Birmingham, visible from many parts of the city. The first opened on 6 November 2003, and its replacement opened on 21 October 2004, both being tall. A third wheel, the Birmingham Mail Wheel, operated from 18 January 2010 until 22 February 2010, and was also 60 m tall.

History

The first wheel, the Roue de Paris, had originally operated in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. When the Birmingham installation opened to the public on Thursday 6 November 2003, the commentary provided was the original French version describing the sights of Paris. The following year, Roue de Paris moved to

Exchange Square, Manchester Exchange Square is civic square in Manchester, England. The square was created after the IRA 1996 Manchester bombing. This reconstruction included the structural relocation of two pubs to make room for the new Marks & Spencer store. Today the s ...

, and a new wheel was erected at the Birmingham site. This second wheel was operated by

World Tourist Attractions Great City Attractions Limited, also known as Great City Attractions Global, was a company engaged in the operation of large transportable Ferris wheels. Based in Sutton Coldfield, UK, it was incorporated in 2008. It went into administration in Jul ...

and had commentary by 96.4 BRMB DJ Phil Upton. It had sealed carriages with air conditioning and heating, and a premium "VIP" car. On 5 September 2006, the second wheel closed after it was sold to an Australian company; it was then dismantled and transported to Australia.

Gallery

Image:Hall of Memory 01.jpg, Birmingham Wheel behind the

Hall of Memory Hall of Memory is a name used for some memorials, including: * The Hall of Memory, Birmingham, a war memorial in Birmingham, United Kingdom, honoring residents killed in World War I. * The octagonal chapel at the heart of the Australian War Memori ...

Image:Birmingham Wheel 2009 01.jpg, Birmingham Wheel night view Image:Birmingham Wheel 2009 02.jpg, Birmingham Wheel night view Image:Birmingham Wheel 2009 03.jpg, Inside the wheel structure Image:Birmingham Wheel 2009 05.jpg, The Birmingham Wheel from Cambrian Wharf Image:Birmingham Wheel 2009 04.jpg, The Birmingham Wheel from Lozells Image:Birmingham from north 01.jpg, The Birmingham Wheel from Barr Beacon

References

{{Coord, 52, 28, 44.04, N, 1, 54, 32.49, W, type:landmark, display=title Transportable Ferris wheels Buildings and structures in Birmingham, West Midlands