New Delhi, 14th June 2013: Nik Wallenda, King of the HighWire and seventh generation descendent of the legendary Wallenda Family acrobatic troupe, is on a mission of a death-defying act. It will be one of the most daring and captivating live events in history when Nik will traverse the majestic Grand Canyon, without using a harness.
Discovery Channel will capture the nail-biting, play-by-play live event on Monday, June 24th, at 5:30 am with a special repeat at 8 pm.
Announcing the event, Rahul Johri, senior vice president and general manager – South Asia and Head of Revenue, Pan-Regional Ad Sales and Southeast Asia, Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific said, “Discovery Channel is renowned for celebrating extraordinary people and topical events through its entertaining programmes. Skywire Live with Nik Wallenda will be one of the most unique and spectacular acts in the history of world television and for the first time, Discovery Channel will bring the experience live for its viewers in India.”
Wallenda will tightrope walk higher than he’s ever attempted before at 1,500 feet above the Little Colorado River, a height greater than the Empire State Building. In 2012, Wallenda became the first person to tightrope walk directly over Niagara Falls from the U.S. to Canada at a height of 200 feet.
“The stakes don’t get much higher than this,” saidWallenda. “The only thing that stands between me and the bottom of the canyon is a two-inch thick wire. I’m looking forward to showing the audience a view of the canyon they‘ve never seen before.”
Wallenda, 34, said that this latest event will be the fulfillment of a lifelong dream to walk at such a great height as well as a chance to honor his great-grandfather, the legendary Karl Wallenda, who died after falling from a tightrope in Puerto Rico in 1978. His family has been doing this for seven generations. He was born doing it literally!
The Grand Canyon, one of America’s most visited tourist destinations, provides a spectacular backdrop to the event. The tightrope crossing will take place in a remote section of the canyon operated by the Navajo Nation Parks and Recreation.
