The London Eye will mark the end of British Summer Time and the clocks turning back by taking a rare backwards spin.
The London landmark usually runs clockwise, but for just the second time since the landmark was erected in 2000 it will run anti-clockwise for around 30 minutes from 8.15am on Sunday, before it opens to the public.
It will mark the switch from British Summer Time to Greenwich Mean Time and it is the first time the cantilevered observation wheel has run in reverse since 2019 – when it also marked the clocks going back.
Every year clocks go back an hour at 2am on the last Sunday of October, and when the clocks change, so does the UK’s time zone.
The London Eye will mark the end of British Summer Time and the clocks turning back by taking a rare backwards spin
Every year clocks go back an hour at 2am on the last Sunday of October, and when the clocks change, so does the UK’s time zone
Robin Goodchild, senior general manager of the lastminute.com London Eye, said: ‘We are thrilled to share a unique moment with everyone as the London Eye goes backwards to mark the end of British Summer Time.
‘As the nights draw in, early evening rides offer guests breathtaking panoramic views of London’s skyline, showcasing the transition from autumnal sunsets to thousands of twinkling lights.’
The London Eye was erected to celebrate the millennium, has 32 pods representing the London boroughs and is 135 metres tall.
The practice was first introduced in 1916 in a bid to improve workforce productivity by making the most of daylight hours in the summer months.
The argument is that as the days get longer, shifting our schedules forward gives people more sunlight hours during their working day.
Losing an hour of sleep when the clocks move forward can result in the whole population feeling more tired than usual
But top sleep scientists have called for an end to Daylight Saving Time (DST) amid fears it fuels a rise in cancer, traffic accidents and sleep issues.
In a UK first, experts from the British Sleep Society have published a position statement advocating for the abolition of the twice-yearly clock change.
Losing an hour of sleep when the clocks move forward can result in the whole population feeling more tired than usual.
Some studies have suggested that the risk of fatal traffic accidents increases by around six per cent following the spring daylight savings time transition.
There is also evidence of an increased risk of cardiovascular events, increased risk of suicidal behaviours and increased mortality in the days after switching our clocks.
The British Sleep Society’s perspective emphasizes that sleep is central to health and wellbeing and the enforced changes can interfere with our ability to regulate our shuteye.
‘What we often don’t realise is that DST changes our schedules, moving them forward by one hour while daylight remains the same,’ co-author Eva Winnebeck, from the University of Surrey, said.
‘DST forces us all to get up and go to work or school one hour earlier. In seasons with fewer daylight hours such as now in autumn, it means most of us have to get up and commute in the dark.’