New Year Manchester, UK 27th December, 2013. Manchester's New Year's Eve celebrations are poised to go off with a bang ... from Piccadilly Gardens, as the new big Ronald Bussink Professional Rides Ferris wheel takes centre stage. The 60m high ride – currently being built under difficult conditions– will officially open soon taking thrill-seekers up into the skies until 1am on January 1 2014. It replaces the previous ride in Exchange Square, which was dismantled 18 months ago to make way for Olympic celebrations. Conrad Elias/Alamy Live News
A classic ride dating back to the beginning of fairs and experiments into riding devices. The Big Wheel is as its name suggests - a large spoked wheel with swinging gondolas that maintain a horizontal keel. Development has been in expansion and refinement, with a recent trend of travelling 'Giant Wheels' (or erecting them as landmarks in cities). The Big Wheel, as a ride type, has been a part of the fairground for as long as the fairground has existed. The idea of using a giant spoked device to propel passengers gently through a circle is an obvious attraction for the fairground engineer, and the success of the ride from its very early experimental formats has meant that development tends to be in the realm of refinement and expansion rather than rugged evolution. Braithwaite's 'Fairground Architecture' shows various sketches of early Big Wheel devices with limited construction and propulsion methods, though by the end of the 19th Century the Big Wheel as we know it was taking its shape. Giant Wheel installations became a badge for all budding exhibitions, and the example at Earl's Court (London) erected in 1894 led the way in expressing opulence and engineering superiority. Ronald A. Bussink has been a leading designer of giant Ferris wheels and similar structures for over 25 years. Bussink entered the amusement industry market in 1985 and designed, manufactured, and delivered more than 60 giant Ferris wheels between 1990 and 2005. The Bussink company was previously known as Nauta Bussink prior to moving its offices from the Netherlands to Appenzell Innerrhoden, Switzerland. It was then known as Ronald Bussink Professional Rides, a registered trademark of Ronald Bussink Aktiengesellschaft, which was subsequently renamed Professional Rides Aktiengesellschaft. In 2008, following the sale of Bussink's Wheels of Excellence range to Vekoma, Bussink created a new company, Bussink Landmarks, to concentrate on the supply of Ferris wheels of 100 metres or more.
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Photo credit: © Conrad Elias / Alamy / Afripics
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