Amidst the construction mess along the new Central waterfront the ‘wheel of envy’ is beginning to emerge… Our ever observant politicians and the skilled marketers of the HK Tourist Board finally saw that lots of cities – not least Singapore and Shanghai – had cottoned onto the success of the London Eye and built their own, highly successful equivalent, 160m+ observation wheel.
We want one of those was the cry! But rather than take the interesting option and build a 160m+ wheel on the dead space that is the old Kai Tak – and draw tourists and businesses to the area. As well as offer a unique view of Hong Kong and the harbour… and an attractive reason for more cruise ships to stop at the empty terminal. No let’s put a mini-wheel jammed full of gondolas smack in the middle of Central. Instead of a iconic wheel soaring over Kowloon and making a statement. We have a 60m wheel dwarfed by the surrounding buildings…