Words by

Andie Sophia Fontaine

Photo by

Michal Osmenda/Wikimedia Commons

A story reported by Morgunblaðið has caught the attention of Icelanders across social media. Marta Jonsson, best known to Reykjavík residents as a shoe designer and businesswoman living in London, has proposed the construction of a giant Ferris wheel in the city. Much like the same thing they have in London.

Possible locations for this wheel include Örfirisey, which would be right on the harbour shore; Laugardalur, which would be further inland; or Öskuhlíð, which would be pretty much in the dead centre of the peninsula.

However, one little detail that people are quick to point out is that, as anyone who has spent more than fifteen minutes in Reykjavík can attest, this town is windy as hell. Given the immense size of the wheel in question, it is difficult to imagine the gusts and wind shears it would have to face leading to a very long life for the wheel. Not even straw goats a few metres tall can
withstand our worst winds. Just ask IKEA.

In an interview with radio station Bylgjan, Marta further explained that the wheel will be anywhere from 100 to 120 metres tall. For comparison purposes, Hallgrímskirkja is about 74 metres tall. Marta was also decidedly confident, telling reporters that it isn’t a question of whether but when the wheel gets built.

But the matter is not a done deal. Designing of the wheel still needs to be completed, and a response from the Environmental and Planning Department of the City of Reykjavík is still pending. We reached out to Björn Ingi Edvardsson of the Planning Department for comment on the matter, and we’re still waiting to hear back from him.

In the meantime, we should probably ask ourselves if this is really something Reykjavík needs. The north shore provides likely one of the most stunning views you could find in any capital city, created by none other than Mother Nature herself. A 100-metre-tall copy-paste job from another city is not going to make the skyline any prettier. Whether the city of Reykjavík agrees or not still remains to be seen.