From its opening in 1965 until 1980, the Post Office Tower was the tallest building in London. But the real novelty was its revolving restaurant on the 34th floor. To celebrate the tower's 50th birthday, the restaurant will reopen for just two weeks.

London skyline celebrates 50 years

Along with St. Paul's Cathedral and Big Ben, the BT Tower has long presided over London's skyline. It was initially planned in 1936, but the Second World War intervened, and it wasn't until almost 30 years later, in 1965, that then Prime Minister Harold Wilson opened the building.

From the outset, the BT Tower was an important communications hub, and it still serves that purpose today with the transmission of TV programmes, telephone conversations, and computer data.

The tower took four-and-a-half years to build and immediately became a tourist attraction as crowds flocked to take in the city views from special observation platforms.

But it wasn't just the views that visitors came for. The tower's revolving restaurant on the 34th floor - giving diners a panoramic view from 158 metres up - was also a major attraction. To this day, the restaurant's revolving floor still uses its original 1960s mechanism and engine, completing a full circle every 22 minutes.

Just 1,400 lucky winners of a ballot will get to enjoy this two-week reopening, which runs from the 25th of July to the 7th of August.

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