Aviktas, which was officially announced last summer, will welcome its first 40 riders on Thursday May 21, catapulting them 138ft into the air at angles of up to 120° at Pleasure Beach Resort in Blackpool.
Set to become the largest gyro swing in the UK, the attraction towers over the seaside town’s skyline, just beside the famous Big One and Infusion coasters.
It’s almost double the height of the current tallest spinning pendulum ride – Drayton Manor’s Maelstrom at approximately 74ft – and surpasses the likes of Thorpe Park’s The Swarm and Flamingo Land’s Kumali.
Designed to provide a ‘weightless’ sensation at the top of its arc, it makes those on board ‘feel as though they are being swung over the sea’, with ‘epic views’ across the Fylde Coast.
While visitors may have caught a glimpse of Aviktas’s scale during recent tests, as it’s largely shielded from public view behind fencing and hoarding, new images offer a preview of the final construction in all its glory.
The £8.72 million project sits on the former site of the Bowladrome, an arcade and entertainment venue that stood from the 1960s, before being demolished in March 2025.
Amanda Thompson OBE, Pleasure Beach Resort’s chief executive, said: “This isn’t just a new ride for Pleasure Beach, it’s a completely unique experience to UK theme parks as a whole. We have a history of going big and this certainly is no exception.
‘We’re in the final stages now. The finishing touches are being added and we’re making sure everything is ready for its opening on May 21.”
