Russian President Vladimir Putin unveiled Europe’s largest giant wheel, Moscow Sun, at the VDNKh exhibition center in Moscow on September 10, 2022.
The Moscow Sun is 140 m (460 ft) high, five meters taller than the London Eye in the UK.
It has 30 cabins and a capacity of 450 passengers. Some of the cabins have transparent floors.
The new giant wheel will reportedly take 18 minutes and 40 seconds to complete one rotation, allowing time for the passengers to contemplate the city views.
Moscow Sun replaced the older Moscow-850, a giant wheel that was inaugurated in 1995 to mark the 850th anniversary of Moscow. The predecessor was 73 meters (240 ft) tall.
The inauguration of the wheel coincides with Moscow Day, a day that honors the city’s founding.
The biggest in Europe, not the World
Ain Dubai, a giant wheel in UAE with a height of 250 meters (820 ft), is the World’s tallest. It opened to the public in October 2021.
In a distant second is High Roller, the biggest giant wheel in the World from 2014 to 2021. The High Roller, 167 m (550) tall, is located on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada.
The giant wheel is called a Ferris Wheel in the US and elsewhere because of its inventor George Washington Gale Ferris.
While some giant wheels offer a faster rotation and amusement, some go slow, offer views, and serve as tourist guides.