Wheels Entertainments,Bid to keep York's big wheel
/ref>News from the north
/ref> sometimes referred to by the press as Wheels Entertainment,Big wheel plans for Prom - Local Business - Blackpool Gazette
/ref>BBC News - York residents 'concerned' over wheel extension
/ref> is a company engaged in the operation of large 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 ...

s. Based at Shenstone, in

Lichfield Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west of B ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

, it is the UK operations arm of Dubai-based Freij Entertainment International.

History

In January 2013 ''

The Press ''The Press'' is a daily newspaper published in Christchurch, New Zealand owned by media business Stuff Ltd. First published in 1861, the newspaper is the largest circulating daily in the South Island and publishes Monday to Saturday. One comm ...

'' and othersPlymouth to decide whether to keep the Hoe's Big Wheel
/ref> reported that the British-based

s previously operated by

Great City 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 ...

Global, which included wheels installed in Glasgow, Liverpool,

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, Plymouth, and

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

, had been purchased for an undisclosed sum by Freij Entertainment International, the world's biggest fun fair company, and would be operated by

-based Wheels Entertainments.

Ferris wheel installations

In May 2013 the ''

Blackpool Gazette The ''Blackpool Gazette'' (locally marketed as simply ''The Gazette'') is an English daily newspaper based in Blackpool, Lancashire. Published every day except Sunday, it covers the towns and communities of the Fylde coast. It was founded as '' ...

'' reported that agents submitting a planning application on behalf of Wheels Entertainments to Blackpool Council had stated that "the applicants currently have wheels in York, Liverpool and Plymouth but they have also operated successfully elsewhere including in Brighton, Weston-Super-Mare and in the city centres of Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, Sheffield and Derby", however this list includes wheels previously operated by

and which had ceased operating at the time of the purchase of Great City Attractions' assets by Freij Entertainment International.

Blackpool

In May 2013 Wheels Entertainments applied to Blackpool Council for a five-year planning permission for a wheel with 42 passenger capsules to be installed on the headland just north of

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

's South Pier.

Plymouth

The Wheel of Plymouth first opened in 2011 and is tall. It is open daily from 10am until 7pm. In March 2013 the ''

Western Morning News The ''Western Morning News'' is a daily regional newspaper founded in 1860, and covering the West Country including Devon, Cornwall, the Isles of Scilly and parts of Somerset and Dorset in the South West of England. Organisation The ''Western Mo ...

'' reported that Wheels Entertainments had applied for an extension to its planning permission, first granted in October 2011 and then renewed until the end of 2012, to enable the wheel to remain in place until 28 February 2014. The application was approved, with the proviso that the wheel not operate during remembrance events such as

Armistice Day Armistice Day, later known as Remembrance Day in the Commonwealth and Veterans Day in the United States, is commemorated every year on 11 November to mark Armistice of 11 November 1918, the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I a ...

and

Remembrance Sunday Remembrance Sunday is held in the United Kingdom as a day to commemorate the contribution of British and Commonwealth military and civilian servicemen and women in the two World Wars and later conflicts. It is held on the second Sunday in Nov ...

York

:''Coordinates:'' The second

Yorkshire Wheel Yorkshire Wheel was the name used by two transportable Ferris wheel installations at different locations in York, England. The first installation, at the National Railway Museum, operated from 12 April 2006 until 2 November 2008. The second in ...

, also known as the Wheel of York or York Wheel, had 42 passenger capsules, including one luxury VIP capsule with glass floor, leather interior and DVD player. It was open from 10am until 9pm on weekdays, 9am to 9pm on Saturdays, and 10am to 8pm on Sundays.The Wheel of York , York Wheel
/ref> The tall wheel was located in the gardens of The Royal York Hotel and operated from 13 December 2011 until 30 September 2013 Its predecessor was a wheel that operated at the

National Railway Museum The National Railway Museum is a museum in York forming part of the Science Museum Group. The museum tells the story of rail transport in Britain and its impact on society. It is the home of the national collection of historically significant r ...

from 12 April 2006 until 2 November 2008.

References

External links

* {{Use dmy dates, date=March 2017 Entertainment companies of the United Kingdom