‘Flying Wallendas’ Make History By Walking On High Wire 25 Stories Over Times Square On Live TV
Jun 25, 2019 by apost team
Nik and Lijana Wallenda accomplished their dream of walking across a tightrope above New York’s Times Square on ABC’s Live Sunday broadcast. The Flying Wallendas, as they are better known, come from a long generation of tight rope walkers that have amazed the world again and again by the feats they choose to walk.
This past Sunday was no different, but also extremely nerve-racking as it was Lijana’s first stunt since she was severely injured from a fall in 2017.
The Wallenda siblings took to the New York skyline to become the first ever to cross New York’s Time Square on a tightrope 25 stories above the city streets. Nik said he fulfilled his dream of “paying homage” to his family’s performance at Madison Square Garden in 1928.
“The Wallenda family has been a star tightrope-walking troupe for generations, tracing their roots to 1780 in Austria-Hungary, when their ancestors traveled as a band of acrobats, aerialists, jugglers, animal trainers, and trapeze artists. They never use nets in live shows or in rehearsals,” according to ABC.
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However, New York City required the performers to wear a safety harness when they walked across Times Square.
“Tonight I was concerned that I would get over the edge and my adrenaline would start going and my legs would start shaking and I’d be nervous but the wire is truly home to us,” Lijana said in a press conference after the stunt. “You get all in your head and stress out and nervous but then when you’re actually out there and walking, it’s so calm it was kind of the most peaceful part of my day honestly.”
Lijana fell in 2017 during rehearsals and suffered extensive injuries, including to her face. She required reconstructive surgery to repair the damage.
Fortunately, her legs stayed steady in her most recent stunt, which made her feel all the more victorious as she made it to the other side of Time Square, becoming the first person alongside her brother to cross all 1,300 feet of New York Time Square on a tightrope.
The siblings started on opposite ends of the square, walking toward each other on a cable that was the size of a bottle cap, just 3/4 inches thick.
They were able to talk the entire time, and Lijana even sang at times while the world watched the event broadcasted live on ABC.
Nik said that while most people would get nervous with so many eyes on them, it actually helped the siblings.
“We’re entertainers — we live for that,” he told the NY Times.
When they met in the middle of the wire, Lijana had to sit down on the tightrope in order for her brother to carefully climb over her and continue towards the other side. Though Lijana briefly faltered when she realized she’d revoked her pole wrong, she quickly gathered herself and kept going.
“I was calm about it — I was like, ‘I got this,'” she said.
The siblings went on to finish the rest of their feat without issue, fulfilling a lifelong dream by becoming the first people to cross Times Square on a high wire.
Congratulations to the Wallenda siblings on this incredible feat! What do you think of their accomplishment? Let us know in the comments and pass this along to your friends and family so they don't miss out!