Will the Worthing Observation Wheel be coming back this year?

The Worthing Observation Wheel (WOW) was a roaring success, drawing crowds from its first day in April to when it was finally dismantled in October.

Worthing Borough Council signed a three year lease with the wheel operator in 2019, which in theory meant we could look forward to the wheel again this year and again in 2021 for at least one final year.

But that was before coronavirus brought the world to a halt, confined many of us to our homes and closed down all of our attractions, bars and leisure activities.

It is a time of uncertainty, with no definitive end to lockdown measures, and this uncertainty has extended to the future of the WOW.

A council spokesman has confirmed it will be guided by the Government's advice on lockdown. Ordinarily the wheel would be up and running by now, but clearly that is not the case.

According to the council, if restrictions ease then the operator is still keen to go ahead with the wheel in the summer, but time will tell whether that is an option.

When Boris Johnson announced the lockdown on March 24, he said restrictions would be reviewed in three weeks, on April 13.

Unfortunately, the Government has now said it is too soon to tell whether the country has reached the peak of the outbreak and therefore whether the restrictions are working, so the lockdown has been extended.

All we can do it stay at home, keep our distance and stop the spread of coronavirus. Hopefully, there could still be time to get the wheel up and a semblance of normality before summer has passed.