World’s tallest observation wheel, Ain Dubai, to be completed next year

The world’s tallest observation wheel, Ain Dubai, will be completed “in time for Expo 2020 Dubai celebrations”, developer Meraas revealed on Wednesday.

Located at Meraas’ Dhs8bn Bluewaters Island, Ain Dubai, at over 250 metres, will carry up to 1,900 passengers at a time in its 48 double-glazed capsules, offering 360-degree views of Dubai.

In a statement, Meraas confirmed that the eighth and final 450-tonne temporary spoke has now been removed from the structure and that the last of the permanent spoke cables has been installed.

The process marks the “first time” the structure has been one complete wheel since construction began, it said.

The eight temporary spokes and braces were originally installed to hold the rim segments in place during the construction.

With the removal of the final temporary steel spoke, the weight of the wheel rim has been entirely transferred to 192 spoke cables, which ensure the structural integrity of Ain Dubai through the process of permanent compression.

Cumulatively, the eight temporary steel spokes and rim braces weighed more than 5,000 tonnes.

When complete, the structure will be over 200 per cent taller than the first ever Ferris wheel. Currently, the world’s tallest observation wheel is the High Roller in Las Vegas, US, which stands at 167 metres. The second tallest is the London Eye, which has a height of 135 metres.

Ain Dubai is set to become the main attraction on Bluewaters Island, which also features entertainment, retail, residential and hospitality offerings.

Read: Dubai’s Bluewaters island with world’s largest observation wheel opens

Ain Dubai in Numbers:

– 250+: height in meters of Ain Dubai, making it the world’s tallest observation wheel.

– 5 tonnes: the weight of each permanent spoke cable that holds the wheel rim in place.

– 1 football pitch: length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional football pitch.

– 2,400: distance in kilometres of all the cable wires housed inside the spoke cables if they were joined end to end. That’s the same distance as Dubai to Cairo.

– 16 Airbus A380s: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.

– 126: length in meters of the legs that support the structure.

– 15: London buses can fit inside each leg.

– 9,000: tonnes of steel used in the construction of Ain Dubai.