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

Ferris wheel

A Ferris wheel is a nonbuilding structure consisting of a rotating upright wheel with passenger cars attached to the rim in such a way that as the wheel turns, the cars are kept upright, usually by gravity.Some of the largest and most modern Ferris wheels have cars mounted on...

 installations at Centenary Square

Centenary Square

Centenary Square is a public square on Broad Street in central Birmingham, England, named in 1989 in celebration of the centenary of Birmingham achieving city status in 1889....

 in Birmingham

Birmingham

Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. 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 60 metres (197 ft) 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

Roue de Paris

The Roue de Paris is a tall Ferris wheel, originally installed on the Place de la Concorde in Paris, France, for the 2000 millennium celebrations...

, had originally operated in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

. 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

Wheel of Manchester

The Wheel of Manchester is a transportable Ferris wheel installation at Exchange Square, Manchester, England.The first wheel was first installed in 2004...

, and a new wheel was erected at the Birmingham site.

This second wheel was owned by World Tourist Attractions and had commentary by 96.4 BRMB DJ Phil Upton

Phil Upton

Phil Upton is a British radio presenter in the West Midlands region.-Early life:Born the same day as David Cameron, he attended King's Norton Boys' School in Cotteridge from 1978-85....

. Like all subsequent World Tourist Attractions wheels, this one consisted of 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.

Photographs

These views are of the third wheel, opened in November 2009. Views from a distance show how the wheel is part of the Birmingham panorama.