Portsmouth's iconic Spinnaker Tower is celebrating a remarkable milestone - 20 years since it first opened its doors to the public. The 170-meter-tall landmark, which cost £35.6 million to construct, officially opened on October 18, 2005, and has since become an unmistakable part of the Portsmouth skyline. This Hampshire architectural marvel has accumulated quite a collection of interesting stories and surprising facts over its two decades of operation.
The tower's design wasn't always a foregone conclusion. Back in 1998, Portsmouth residents were presented with three distinct architectural concepts to choose from: the Spinnaker, the Triple Tower, and the Globe. In a democratic process, approximately 30,000 people cast their votes, with about 60% selecting the Spinnaker design. The winning design represents a sail billowing in the wind, a fitting tribute to Portsmouth's rich maritime heritage and naval history.
One of the most controversial moments in the tower's history involved an ill-fated sponsorship deal with Emirates airline. When plans were announced to paint the Spinnaker Tower in Emirates' corporate colors of red and white, thousands of furious football fans immediately launched a petition against the change. Their anger stemmed from the fact that red and white are the official colors of Southampton FC, Portsmouth's fierce rivals. The public outcry was so intense that officials quickly reversed course, instead painting the tower in blue and gold. As a gesture of goodwill, the 100 liters of unused red paint were donated to local community groups.
The tower has witnessed some truly extraordinary feats of courage, none more remarkable than Doris Long's record-breaking achievement in 2015. At the incredible age of 101, this great-great-grandmother, affectionately known as 'Daring Doris,' abseiled nearly 100 meters (330 feet) down the tower, setting a Guinness World Record as the oldest person ever to complete such a challenge. Long, who didn't take up abseiling until she was 85, used her daring descent to raise thousands of dollars for a local hospice. She joins more than 50,000 people who have taken on the abseiling challenge over the years.
The tower's opening day was marked by an embarrassing technical mishap that would prove prophetic of future problems. David Greenhalgh, Portsmouth City Council's project manager at the time, became trapped in the external glass lift for more than an hour, stuck 100 feet (30 meters) above ground. Abseiling engineers had to be called in to rescue him from the jammed elevator. The glass lift, designed to give visitors panoramic views across Portsmouth during their ascent, continued to experience technical issues for years. After numerous failed repair attempts, it was finally deemed unfixable and permanently removed in 2012.
In recent years, the Spinnaker Tower has found a unique new purpose as a venue for gender reveal celebrations. The tower's 50 LED lights have been used for 30 different gender reveals, creating dramatic displays visible across the city. Expectant parents can book the landmark for their special announcements, with the lights flashing in a suspenseful sequence of blue and pink before settling on the final color - blue for boys, pink for girls. This modern use adds to the tower's history of being illuminated in various colors to raise awareness for different causes and charities.
The tower's construction timeline tells a story of ambitious plans gone awry. Originally known as the Millennium Tower, it was conceived as part of nationwide millennium celebration projects alongside famous structures like London's Millennium Dome and Cornwall's Eden Project. The goal was to create a landmark that would boost tourism in Portsmouth and serve as a lasting symbol of the new millennium. Despite receiving approval from the Millennium Commission in 1995, the project was plagued by political disputes, financial difficulties, contractual problems, and construction delays. Construction didn't actually begin until 2001, well after the millennium had passed. The delays also resulted in significant cost overruns, ultimately costing taxpayers £11.1 million despite original promises that it would cost the public nothing.
One of the tower's most thrilling features is its glass floor, located on viewing deck 1, which offers breathtaking views 100 meters (328 feet) above Portsmouth Harbor. The floor consists of three layers of reinforced glass, creating a total thickness of 60mm (2 inches). Engineers designed it to support an impressive total weight of 288 stone - equivalent to two adult black rhinoceroses. For many years, it held the distinction of being the largest glass floor in Europe, allowing brave visitors to look directly down at the harbor below while standing on what appears to be thin air.
The tower has also served as a stage for extraordinary performances, including a death-defying magic trick in 2017. Southsea magician Dan Churchley, then 29 years old, performed an incredible escape act that left crowds mesmerized. Suspended upside down from the tower's viewing platform while wearing a straitjacket, Churchley managed to free himself in just 1 minute and 51 seconds, demonstrating remarkable skill and composure while dangling 100 meters above the ground.
Perhaps most surprisingly, the entire Spinnaker Tower sits on what was once the seabed. The structure was built on the site of a former tidal mudflat that had been gradually reclaimed over centuries for naval and dockyard use, including serving as the location for HMS Vernon, Portsmouth's torpedo training school. To ensure the tower's stability on this soft, reclaimed ground, engineers drove 84 reinforced concrete piles deep into the seabed, with some extending to depths of 50 meters (164 feet). These massive foundations anchor the tower securely, allowing it to withstand the powerful storms and tides that regularly batter the Portsmouth coastline, ensuring that this architectural marvel will continue to define the city's skyline for generations to come.
