Emirates Spinnaker Tower with a global brand and that can only be a good thing." The tower was to be repainted in a red and white colour scheme—similar to that of local football rivals Southampton F.C.—as part of the rebranding but following a petition with over 10,000 signatures, Portsmouth City Council decided to rethink the change. Portsmouth City Council leader Donna Jones said: "We are working up a new design for the tower [which] will reflect the city’s heritage... I don’t want a tower in the city [that] no one likes the look of." The new design, unveiled on 19 June 2015, featured
Emirates Spinnaker Tower despite only the internal lift working, with more than 600,000 people visiting it in the first year. It is one of a number of observation towers around the world that have become popular, including Vancouver's Harbour Centre, Toronto's CN Tower, Blackpool's Tower, New York City's One World Trade Center (as well as the original Twin Towers) and Shanghai's Oriental Pearl Tower. In June 2006, the local press raised a concern that the tower might be forced to close. All public buildings in the UK require disabled access under the 1995 Disability Discrimination Act. With the external lift inoperative and only