Getting through Times Square is miserable enough at ground-level, but this Sunday the daredevil duo Nik and Lijana Wallenda will take things to new heights when they traverse the tourist trap on a 1,300-foot-long cable suspended 25 stories high.
The siblings will still have to contend with the brain-numbing stimuli of The Crossroads of the World, where the billboards are bigger, brighter and in higher definition than ever before.
The arduous excursion will likely be made more difficult by the din of the crowds below and the incessant honking on the congested midtown streets.
The brother, Nik, is a big record breaker in the world of high wire stunts and says he’s been involved in every aspect of preparation for the feat.
“I’m very hands on, I was covered in dirt and grease and everything that night. Running up on top of rooftops, and tensioning, pulling and attaching,” Nik Wallenda said.
The two will begin their walk at the same time from opposite ends of the wire, and navigate past one another once they meet in the middle.
“This one, I’ve had to raise the bar, no pun intended, on the rigging side of things, because my sister is on there,” he added.
Both performers know the risks: Lijana was seriously injured after a 2017 high wire fall.
“So it’s a whole other level, on the mental aspect, on my side, to go ‘this wire better be perfect’,” Nik Wallenda added.
Andrew Rudansky, a representative for the Department of Buildings, said in a statement that safety was a top priority in permitting the event, and that the department required detailed plans and drawings in order to approve it.
The high wire hustle is part of a deal with ABC, which executives hope will draw in millions of viewers during a 2-hour live broadcast Sunday evening at 8 p.m.
The Wallendas will be attached to safety harnesses during the stunt, and Nik plans to check things over down to the wire.
“That’s part of what I do, and a part of that has to do with the fact that it is my life, and my safety," he said.
