Melbourne's tourism spin
August 28th 2008 23:51
View from the top of the London Eye (Picture: Chris Champion)
In 2002, when it was announced, Melbourne's proposed giant sky wheel was an exciting prospect. Located in the middle of town, it would rival the London Eye and be an instant icon. This, promised the pollies and the promoters, would be the wheel deal.
At the time the Sydney Morning Herald, showing the condescension it reserves for stories involving Melbourne, reported, that " the southern capital will have something that will be hard to miss - a giant slow-moving ferris wheel on the banks of the Yarra River".
Not everyone was in favour. The Victorian Opposition Leader at the time, Dennis Napthine, said he thought it would be "an embarrassment". "The Melbourne Eye is a pale imitation of the London Eye and will turn out to be a Melbourne eyesore."
The striking words here are "pale imitation". How right he was.
When the Melbourne project was announced, comparisons with the London Eye were inevitable. They were also useful - the London landmark may be a century or two younger than most of the city's tourist attractions, but it is enormously popular, a feel-good factor which anybody with a finger in the Melbourne Eye pie would be foolish not to exploit.
And it was easy to be swept along on the tide of enthusiasm back then, when the project had the advantage of being long on marketing rhetoric and short on details.
What we didn't know at the time was that the big wheel would never be built on the banks of the Yarra, with close-up views of the city. It would instead be built in a paddock off Footscray Road, with a close-up view of a container terminal.
Worse, Melbourne's very own giant wheel is more of a wannabe giant. And it is this more than anything which reduces all the hype to hyperbole.
The tallest ferris wheel in the world at present is in Singapore. It opened in February 2008, and stands 165 metres tall. It took over from the 160-metre wheel in Nachang, China, which opened in 2006 to take the world's tallest title from the 135-metre London Eye.
But they will all be relegated to the little leagues next year when two 185-metre giants are built in Dubai and Berlin and, standing above them all, a 208-metre colossus is opened in Beijing.
Melbourne's new wheel will open later this year. It will reach 120 metres into the skies over a particularly unlovely stretch of inner western Melbourne industrial land. It will be the world's - oh, let's just say it is in the Top 10. For now.
They have built it. But who will come?
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