Santa Monica Ferris Wheel Globe

Pacific Park turned its Ferris wheel into a 90-foot spinning globe on Earth Day, lighting up the Santa Monica Pier after sunset. (smdp.com) The one-night display ran Wednesday, April 22, 2026, from sunset to midnight on the park’s solar-powered Pacific Wheel. Visit Santa Monica listed the event from 7:30 p.m. to 11:59 p.m. (smdp.com) (santamonica.com) Pacific Park said the wheel used 174,000 light-emitting diode, or LED, lights to show the globe along with green-and-blue Earth Day patterns. The event followed the 2026 Earth Day theme, “Our Power, Our Planet.” (smdp.com) (santamonica.com) The display put a renewable-energy message on one of Santa Monica’s most visible landmarks. Pacific Park says the Pacific Wheel is the world’s only solar-powered Ferris wheel, and the ride is a signature feature of the pier. (pacpark.com 1) (pacpark.com 2) Earth Day events on the pier have used the wheel this way for years. Pacific Park posted similar Earth Day lighting plans in 2020, 2023, 2024, and 2025, each built around blue-and-green patterns and a globe motif. (pacpark.com 1) (pacpark.com 2) (pacpark.com 3) (pacpark.com 4) The wheel itself is also built for spectacle. Pacific Park says riders rise more than 130 feet above the pier, while the wheel’s lighting system can render custom images across its spokes and hubs. (pacpark.com) (smmirror.com) Local outlets and event calendars framed the Earth Day lighting as part of a broader week of environmental programming across Santa Monica and Los Angeles County. Radio station KFI and Santa Monica Next both listed the wheel display alongside cleanups, talks, and other April 22 events. (kfiam640.iheart.com) (santamonicanext.org) By midnight, the globe went dark, but Pacific Park had again used its best-known ride as a public Earth Day billboard over the Pacific. (smdp.com)