Fact Check: Is The London Eye moving to Scotland? Viral post debunked 

Claims of the London Eye being dismantled and moved to Scotland have spread rapidly across Facebook. This comes after images of the tourist destination being disassembled went viral on the social networking site. Despite the images looking very real, they are far from the truth. The U.K. tourist spot is not being removed and transported to Scotland.

Facebook user Paul Gilchrist took to the social networking site on March 11 to show an image of the London Eye being dismantled. The netizen claimed that it was returning to “the bands of Loch Lomond,” the place where it was originally made. The netizen also added:

“Originally planned as a tourist attraction for Loch Lomond, it was leased to the City of London for 25 years, now expiring.”

The platform user also claimed that the London Eye will be renamed the Loch Lomond Aye as it returns to Scotland by the end of the month. The netizen shared:

“The 2 mile long convoy of sections will be moving at 10mph. Police have advised to expect some delays.”

Facebook user claims that the London tourist site is being moved to Scotland (Image via Facebook)

At the time of writing this article, the Facebook post had been shared over 14K times and had amassed nearly 8K comments.

As mentioned prior, the claims are far from the truth.

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The London Eye is not being moved to Scotland

The images attached by Paul Gilchrist date back to the Ferris wheel’s construction in 1999. One can go to the stock photo website Alamy and can find the same photo attached by the Facebook user. Other images that were shared by the Facebook user have been previously recorded on the BBC’s official website.

Paul Gilchrist’s social media post was shared on the Travel Scotland Goals Group Facebook group. The social media page has accumulated numerous misleading posts. They have also claimed on their page that “some places may not be 100% accurate.”

Hence, it is safe to say that Gilchrist’s claims are far from the truth and that the London Eye will remain as it is.

Adding to the misinformation, Gilchrist falsely claimed that the London Eye was created for Scotland and leased to London for 25 years. However, in reality, the construction of the Ferris wheel began in 1998, and the site was intended to celebrate the turning of the millennium.

In July 2002, the Lambeth Council granted the historic site a permanent license to remain in its place. They also announced that an evaluation will be conducted to decide whether it will stay in its position beyond 2028. In December 2022, the owner of the site, Merlin Entertainments, announced that they were “taking steps to secure the landmark’s permanent future.”