The famous high-wire walker Nik Wallenda’s next feat will be a walk along the largest observation wheel in the US, the 400ft Orlando Eye, he announced on Monday.
Wallenda, who has crossed Niagara Falls and the Grand Canyon, announced his latest stunt in New York City.
“If I have any missteps, I can’t stop,” Wallenda said.
Instead of crossing a wire, he will ride a capsule to the top of the wheel, which will then stop. Wallenda will then climb out of his capsule and walk along part of the rim of the wheel. Then the wheel will start to spin again. The stunt will conclude with Wallenda climbing back into a capsule.
The Orlando Eye is in Wallenda’s home state of Florida and he is being paid for the appearance, as he is whenever he does a high-profile stunt. It is set for the morning of 29 April, as part of the attraction’s grand opening ceremony.
Wallenda said that one reason he was doing the walk was “to show a little bit of diversity in the family”.
Unlike the other stunts he has completed, he will not be using a balancing pole. There will also be no wire to catch him if he falls.
In 2012, Wallenda became the first person to cross the edge of Niagara Falls. In 2013, he walked on a 2in-thick steel cable across the Grand Canyon. In 2014, he crossed a 454ft wire between two Chicago skyscrapers.
He is a member of the famous daredevil family the Flying Wallendas, who have been performing in circuses and other venues since 1780, according to the family.
Some of these performances have ended in tragedy. Wallenda’s great-grandfather, uncle and cousin all died while wire-walking. On Monday, he said his uncle had died the previous night, having being paralyzed in an earlier stunt accident.
“My whole life is about facing death in the eyes,” he said.
Last month, Wallenda had to postpone a plan to re-create his great-grandfather’s walk across Georgia’s Tallulah Gorge. Part of the plan involved superimposing the image of his great-grandfather as Nik crossed the wire on live television. He said such technology did not yet exist.
