Latest news with #SkylineMelbourne
Time Out
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time Out
It's official: The infamous Melbourne Star will spin again in 2026
It's been a sad four years since Melbourne's iconic (and often much-maligned) ferris wheel ground to a Covid-induced halt. Now, the owners of the Melbourne Star have officially confirmed that the infamous attraction is opening up again – and is due to start spinning in Docklands (hopefully) by the end of 2026. The 120-metre tall wheel has been standing tragically still since it shut up shop in the September of 2021, with many people assuming this was the end for the Melbourne Star, which had been in operation for 13 years. But now, in excellent news for ferris wheel enthusiasts, the sky-high attraction is coming back, an exact opening date is yet to be announced, the team has confirmed a few key details about the Melbourne Star's renaissance. It's set to be managed by Skyline Attractions (the same people behind Skyline Melbourne and the St Kilda ferris wheel) in partnership with technology solutions agency the Robu Group and US-based carnival and entertainment company Ray Cammack Shows. The relaunch of the observation wheel has been described by Lord Mayor Nick Reece as 'a huge moment for Melbourne and a vote of confidence in the future of Docklands,' – with the City of Melbourne supporting the project. Further details – including ticketing prices and related activations are yet to be announced, but based on what we've seen from the Skyline Attractions team at their other venues, we're expecting big things. According to the organisers, visitor numbers in the first year are estimated at a quarter of a million. In the meantime, you'll just have to get your spinning fix at Skyline, which is located by the Yarra River.
Sydney Morning Herald
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
The Wheel of Misfortune will spin over Docklands again, and I'm excited
The news this week that Melbourne's much-maligned, mocked, and long-motionless giant ferris wheel will soon(-ish) turn again – following a complex $11 million deal with Swiss and American backers – has me in a spin. The story spoke (sorry, can't resist) to me. But what did I feel, exactly? A mix of disbelief, doubt, disdain, maybe even dread? A lot of D words, which is appropriate given the oversized role the attraction (or distraction) plays in the life of Docklands. The $100 million wheel opened in 2008, was shut down 40 days later when structural flaws were detected, reopened after extensive and expensive repairs (practically a rebuild) in 2013, and closed again in 2021, a victim of COVID and lack of interest. You might say the wheel is symptomatic of Docklands itself. It should work, but it doesn't. But for all that, one D word I don't apply to the Melbourne Star Observation Wheel – or M-SOW, as I prefer to think of it – is disaster. Loading Unlike most Melburnians, I have been on the wheel. I was gifted a spin with my family for a birthday some years ago. It was winter, it was night, the sky was clear, and we could see for miles: shipping containers as far as the eye could see in one direction; suburban sprawl to the Dandenongs in another; the stretch of the bay to Dromana to the south; the strange solitary highrise blip of the Broadmeadows Civic Plaza to the north. And, of course, the dense forest of towers of New Quay, the CBD and Southbank right up close. People love to complain about the view, to insist the 120-metre-tall wheel is in the wrong spot, that it should be on the banks of the Yarra, at Birrarung Marr, perhaps, or by Polly Woodside, where its much smaller sibling, the 35-metre-high Skyline Melbourne, operates. But I'm not sure that I buy that. What you see from M-SOW is Melbourne as it really is. A sprawl. A nice bay, with some lovely beaches. A cluster of hills in the distance, but not overly endowed with the geographical magnificence of Sydney, or the lush green and undulating topography of Brisbane.
The Age
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Age
The Wheel of Misfortune will spin over Docklands again, and I'm excited
The news this week that Melbourne's much-maligned, mocked, and long-motionless giant ferris wheel will soon(-ish) turn again – following a complex $11 million deal with Swiss and American backers – has me in a spin. The story spoke (sorry, can't resist) to me. But what did I feel, exactly? A mix of disbelief, doubt, disdain, maybe even dread? A lot of D words, which is appropriate given the oversized role the attraction (or distraction) plays in the life of Docklands. The $100 million wheel opened in 2008, was shut down 40 days later when structural flaws were detected, reopened after extensive and expensive repairs (practically a rebuild) in 2013, and closed again in 2021, a victim of COVID and lack of interest. You might say the wheel is symptomatic of Docklands itself. It should work, but it doesn't. But for all that, one D word I don't apply to the Melbourne Star Observation Wheel – or M-SOW, as I prefer to think of it – is disaster. Loading Unlike most Melburnians, I have been on the wheel. I was gifted a spin with my family for a birthday some years ago. It was winter, it was night, the sky was clear, and we could see for miles: shipping containers as far as the eye could see in one direction; suburban sprawl to the Dandenongs in another; the stretch of the bay to Dromana to the south; the strange solitary highrise blip of the Broadmeadows Civic Plaza to the north. And, of course, the dense forest of towers of New Quay, the CBD and Southbank right up close. People love to complain about the view, to insist the 120-metre-tall wheel is in the wrong spot, that it should be on the banks of the Yarra, at Birrarung Marr, perhaps, or by Polly Woodside, where its much smaller sibling, the 35-metre-high Skyline Melbourne, operates. But I'm not sure that I buy that. What you see from M-SOW is Melbourne as it really is. A sprawl. A nice bay, with some lovely beaches. A cluster of hills in the distance, but not overly endowed with the geographical magnificence of Sydney, or the lush green and undulating topography of Brisbane.
