A brand new big wheel is set to open today in Slessor Gardens, and is already making waves across the city.
Thomson Events set up the 33-metre high funfair ride on Friday and – despite the amber weather warning that has been issued for the area this weekend – the ride will open at midday on Saturday.
The giant attraction will be open daily until 8pm until October 18, and a number of locals have said they are looking forward to seeing it in action.
Betsy Wright said: “I got a bit of a surprise when I first saw it, but I think it will be great.
“It will be a fantastic way to see the city and all the way over to Fife.
“I want to get the grandkids down because they will love it, it is a nice attraction for people coming into the city.
“I would like it to be here permanently.”
Another said: “It looks really interesting and I hope it will be quite popular.
“The forecast is meant to be awful weather, but I think it will be well used.
“You will get a different view of the town and it is something different that is fun and safe.
“Anything like this will be good.”
One woman said: “If it brings people down to Slessor Gardens it is a good thing, I like it down there and go quite a lot.
“Hopefully the weather will be nice so people come along, but the young ones will like it and they need a bit of a laugh at the moment.”
And another said: “It looks really nice and I think it will be popular.”
The big wheel is run by Thomson Events and its director John Thomson explained he had wanted to bring the attraction to Dundee for a while.
He said: “It will be open all through the October school holidays and once it is up and running I think people will make the short walk to Slessor Gardens down from the city centre.
“There are only two or three ways in and out of Dundee and one of them is the Tay Bridge so you can’t miss it.
“We will run from midday until 8pm each day and we think it will be popular with a lot of families.
“You will get a good view all round Dundee at the top.
“We have been trying to come to Dundee for quite a while and we were meant to be here during the school Easter holidays but that was right at the beginning of the lockdown and it was impossible – but now we are here.”
Mr Thomson said everyone who goes on the ride will have to comply with coronavirus safety measures.
“Our Covid-19 procedures are fantastic, the ride gets cleaned regularly in between passengers getting on and off and there are several hand sanitiser stations throughout the ride.
“Passengers also have to comply with track and trace or they will be refused entry.
“The entrance is on the front of the ride and the exit is on the back so people won’t really cross each other and the queuing is well spread out.”
Speculation that the company had arrived in the city without permission to operate the big wheel was dismissed by Dundee City Council.
A spokesman said: “We can confirm that there were no grounds for refusal of the application for a Public Entertainment Licence for the Big Wheel, which was therefore granted.”
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the MET Office warned locals to expect a “very wet weekend” .
He said: “There is the potential to see 120 millimetres of rainfall which is over a month’s worth of rain falling in less than 24 hours so there is a concern for flooding.
“It is worth keeping an eye on the SEPA flood status and river levels over the weekend.
“There will be clouds and a few showers on Saturday morning but it is not until Saturday evening we see the rain get heavy and persistent at 6pm and that will last through until 6am on Sunday morning.”
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