What is now called the London Eye originated as an entry submitted by David Marks and Julia Barfield of Marks Barfield Architects in 1993 to a competition, sponsored by The Sunday Times and Great Britain’s Architecture Foundation, for a new landmark to commemorate the millennium in London. Although no winner was declared, Marks and Barfield undertook the development of the project themselves and found the site where the wheel now stands. Much of the funding was provided by British Airways. Construction began in 1998, and the wheel was put together over the river, in a horizontal position, before being pulled upright. The London Eye, as it was called by this time, was ceremonially “opened” by Prime Minister Tony Blair on December 31, 1999, but did not admit its first paying passenger until March 9, 2000. Originally scheduled to be dismantled after five years, it was kept in place because of continued popularity. In 2006 a decorative LED lighting system was installed in order to make the wheel more prominent after dark.