The Ferris wheel is one of the best attractions that mankind has come up with. First, it is safe and not scary. Secondly, it's insanely beautiful. Even a nondescript city from a bird's eye view suddenly becomes unusually attractive, spacious and slightly mysterious, the chest is filled with air, and the mood noticeably improves.
It turns out that the prototypes of modern ferris wheels appeared more than three hundred years ago in Turkey. These attractions were set in motion with the help of human muscles. But the first Ferris wheel powered by a machine was invented by George Ferris for the World's Fair held in Chicago in 1893. So the Americans answered the inventors of the Eiffel Tower - the French. True, the answer turned out to be, although difficult (about 2000 tons), but not so high - four times less than the Parisian miracle,designed by Gustave Eiffel.
Since in the Soviet Union there were Ferris wheels in the parks of almost any major city, most of our compatriots managed to ride the slow ride more than once. But trying out the highest Ferris wheel in the world is a completely different experience, which a person of the planet of any age can hardly refuse.
The question arises: "Where is it?" As with any record holder, there are several answers to this question. It all depends on the evaluation criteria.
It is commonly believed that the tallest Ferris wheel in the world is located in the city-state of the Republic of Singapore. It is called Singapore Flyer ("Singapore Bird") and rises 165 meters above the ground. From the highest point of the wheel, you can view the surroundings for 45 kilometers and even consider the islands of neighboring Malaysia and Indonesia. This ferris wheel was built in 2008. At first it rotated clockwise, but then, on the advice of feng shui experts, it was turned back. 28 cabins are attached to the wheel, each of which can accommodate 28 people.
In the world of technology, everything changes very quickly. So, from 2000 to 2006, the honorary title of “the highest Ferris wheel in the world” belonged to the famous “London Eye” (Energy London Eye), then it was replaced by the Chinese giant “Star of Nanchang”, which held the palm and even less - two years. These rides were 135 and 160 meters high respectively.
But all these ferris wheels are already built using the technologies of the 21st century. Experts call them observation wheel - "observation wheel". Their booths are not inside, but outside the rim, and are more like capsules. They are not held upright by gravity, but can rotate independently thanks to a complex system of electric motors. As for the Chinese attraction, it seems to be some kind of transitional option between the traditional attraction and the modern "observation wheel".
Therefore, the tallest Ferris wheel in the world of the classical type is the Sky Dream in the Japanese city of Fukuoka. For a number of reasons, it has not been working since 2009 and has been partially dismantled.
But already today a number of projects to create higher ferris wheels have been announced to the world. True, most of these projects stalled, and construction stopped before it could begin.
However, a 167-meter wheel is being built in Las Vegas, a project has been approved for a 190-meter structure in New York overlooking the Statue of Liberty. It is planned that the 210-meter giant will become another decoration of the city of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. This project will certainly come true, because the city has already built the highest skyscraper, the largest shopping center and the highest hotel on the planet.
But there is hope that the question: "Where is the highest ferris wheel?" soon it will be possible to answer: “In Moscow!” The fact is thata project was developed for the construction of a 220-meter attraction with a 275-meter spire in the Russian capital. For a long time, the city authorities could not decide on a place. In the spring of 2013, it was announced that the giant would receive a residence permit near the Natalia Sats musical theater and the circus on Vernadsky Avenue. However, many believe that the place was chosen poorly: you need to build in the center so that you have a magnificent view of, say, the Kremlin and Red Square.
Not only Moscow could really be proud of such an attraction. The highest Ferris wheel in the capital today is located on the territory of VDNKh. It was built for the anniversary of the city 16 years ago and is 73 meters high, which is even slightly smaller than the first Ferris wheel.
