City News

Great City Attractions (GCA) & Birmingham City Council have confirmed that permission has been granted to install a Giant Observation Wheel at Centenary Square Birmingham starting in mid November 2009.  
 
GCA is the global market leader in the installation of these graceful machines. Having previously operated in some of the world's leading locations including Belfast, Birmingham, Brisbane, Brussels, Copenhagen, Glasgow, London, Manchester, Paris, Perth, Sheffield, Singapore, Windsor and York with GCA’s very first wheel was in Centenary Square Birmingham back in 2003.

A spokesperson for GCA has been Quoted as saying “GCA as a company are very excited at having been allowed the opportunity to come back to Birmingham. Although as a company GCA now have a global footprint the heart and soul of the company has always remained in the West Midlands”.

The spokesperson for GCA went on to say “we are confident that the addition of the Giant Observation Wheel, will help bring even more visitors to Birmingham adding to the city's tourism offer as well as a welcome addition to the local skyline. The Wheel of Birmingham will offer residents and visitors alike the chance to see this great city from a completely new perspective.
 
The Wheel of Birmingham will be installed in Centenary Square adjacent to Broad Street. The project has been in development for many months and the public launch is scheduled for around the weekend of Saturday 14th, Sunday 15th November 09. However, the Grand Opening Ceremony, which is expected to be attended by local dignitaries & celebrities, will be held later on in the month.
 
The Giant Observation Wheel has been initially granted permission to remain for 28 days, but planning permission is currently been sort for a further 6 months.

The wheel will create around 30 jobs for Birmingham including controllers, engineers, customer service and management roles. For people wishing to apply it is been requested that they currently visit the job centre for more details.
 
The wheel will operate 7 days a week from 10am until 10pm Monday to Thursday, 10am until midnight Friday and Saturday & 10am – 7pm on Sunday’s.
 
Boarding passes are priced at £6.50 for adults with discounts for children, OAPs & students. Family tickets are priced at £18 and are available from the wheel box office, and online at www.worldtouristattractions.co.uk. Ticket agents will also be set up to sell boarding passes for the Wheel around the West Midlands.

Visitors to the wheel will receive a brief introduction to the facilities available, then enter one of the 42 fully enclosed, climate controlled heated capsules before being gently lifted to a height of almost 200 feet for spectacular panoramic views of the city and beyond.   
 
GCA also said that they would like to thank the local authority and acknowledge their hard work and support throughout the planning stages.