Two people who scaled New York City’s Empire State Building and unfurled a banner about “the power of love” before an apparent marriage proposal have been arrested.
Dressed in black and wearing masks, the duo appeared to climb the 443-metre Manhattan skyscraper without tethers and were seen balancing on a narrow ledge to kiss atop the building’s antenna.
The banner the pair unfurled showed the words: “When the power of love beats the love of power the world knows peace”.
Reaching the top of the Empire State Building, the two unfurl a banner about the “power of love”. (Reuters: Supplied / ABC Affiliate WABC)
Climbing down, the two picked their way along the latticework of metal to a wider ledge, where one seemed to set up a piece of electronic equipment and got down on one knee.
After they kissed again and hugged, the other took selfies with an outstretched left hand, as if examining a ring.
On returning to ground level, police took the climbers into custody about 1pm on Wednesday, local time, but their names were not immediately released. No-one was injured, police said.
Two Russian daredevils, Angela Nikolau and Vanya Beerkus, claimed to be the two people involved in the stunt and posted images and videos to their Instagram accounts showing them atop the building.
New York police wait to arrest the duo at the bottom of the building. (Reuters: Adam Gray)
The adventure-style efforts of Ms Nikolau and Mr Beerkus have been described as “rooftopping”. The duo were the subject of a 2024 documentary called Skywalkers: A Love Story.
Ms Nikolau’s acrobatics run in the family and her father, the Russian circus artist Dmitriy Nikolau, was aware of his daughter’s climb when a Reuters reporter called.
“I think it is normal to climb up a roof in any country, including the United States, according to any constitution,”
he said.
Asked if he was worried about her following her arrest, he said: “Why should I be worried? I climb up roofs myself.”
Onlookers gaped from sidewalks near Manhattan’s Art Deco office tower.
“It’s crazy. It’s like being in the movies,” Jonathan Roman, a tourist visiting from Scottish city Glasgow, said.
He and his 15-year-old son had tickets to go up to one of the observation platforms but arrived to find the building closed because of the antenna activity.
Bystanders, including some denied access to the Empire State Building while the stunt was unfolding, watch from ground level. (Reuters: Adam Gray)
The spectacle was “probably more exciting than going up to the viewing platform for the second time,” Mr Roman said.
Office workers wondered how the pair managed to get to the antenna of a high-profile building where visitors are screened and told not to bring large packages, sports equipment, costumes or masks, among other items.
“I just can’t believe they made it through security,” Jessica Kaplan, who works at a company with offices in the building, said.
The Empire State Building reaches almost 450 metres above Manhattan. (AP: Julia Nikhinson)
It wasn’t clear how the pair gained access to the antenna, which rises well above public areas of the 102-storey building.
The building’s management said in a statement that the episode was “unauthorised” but posed no danger to anyone in the building.
Management didn’t immediately address questions about how the two reached the antenna and what interactions, if any, they had with security workers.
Daredevils have previously climbed the antenna and other parts of the Empire State Building.
Those ascents have largely been unauthorised, but actor and musician Jared Leto was allowed to climb up to the base of the antenna from the 86th floor in 2023 to promote a tour.
Wires
