Shooting up into the sky on the spot where the entrance to the now-defunct West Pier once stood, Brighton’s latest record-breaking tourist attraction is causing much debate amongst its admirers and those who consider the 531ft structure to be an eyesore.
Visitors to the attraction will be able to ascend 450ft up the tower in a 200-seater curved glass pod; it is not only the thinnest tower in the world, but also the first vertical cable car of its kind.
The i360 is projected to have cost £46 million, and after several years of delay the attraction will officially open on Thursday with a firework and light show. There is also a restaurant in the complex that has a menu designed by Masterchef: The Professionals winner, Stephen Edwards.
“We are putting Brighton on the map,” explained Eleanor Harris, chief executive of the i360, said. “And promoting the city around the globe.”
“This is the culmination of a 12-year journey that started on a kitchen table and ends 138 metres above Brighton and Hove beach,” said architect David Marks, who was also behind the London Eye with his wife Julia Barfield. “We feel incredibly happy and proud on behalf of the hundreds, if not thousands, of people that worked to bring the project to reality.”
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