A Russian daredevil couple climbed to the top of the Empire State Building’s towering spire in New York City on Wednesday to unfurl a large banner urging world peace in what appeared to be an elaborate marriage proposal that ended in their arrests.
Dressed in sleeveless black outfits and documenting their time in the sky on social media, Angela Nikolau and Vanya Beerkus hung onto the landmark skyscraper’s antenna spire near the glowing red light at its tip some 1,454 feet above the sidewalks of midtown Manhattan.
They held a black banner with a message in all-capital white letters that flapped in the wind that said: “When the power of love beats the love of power the world knows peace.”
A dizzying proposal
A little after 12:30pm, the pair could be seen on aerial video feeds slowly climbing down to a slightly lower platform in the antenna structure, where they paused. Beerkus then appeared to propose to Nikolau, getting down on one knee, before the couple embraced and kissed.
Nikolau, wearing her trademark Catwoman-style headgear, could then be seen admiring her hand and taking photographs of her ring to share on Instagram. The couple and their adventures in what has become known as “rooftopping” were the subject of a 2024 Netflix documentary called ‘Skywalkers: A Love Story’.
The New York Police Department (NYPD) closed down streets around the building and later said they had taken the couple into custody “without incident.”
The couple, identified by police as Angelina Nikolau, 33, and Ivan Kuznetsov, 32, were charged with several offenses, including burglary, reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, criminal tampering, criminal trespass and disorderly conduct, according to an NYPD spokesperson.
The spokesperson said he did not know whether the couple were still in custody.
It was not clear how they gained access to the antenna.
New York landmarks, including the Empire State Building, have had heightened security since the World Trade Centre attacks in 2001. The climb came as the heatwave-gripped city is already in high spirits, bracing for the expected wedding of musician Taylor Swift and National Football League star Travis Kelce, and crowds for the July 4 celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
Father of climber says ‘it’s normal’
The Art Deco tower, for decades the tallest building in the world before it was surpassed in the 1960s, sells tickets to tourists who want to ascend to an enclosed observation deck on its 102nd floor. It does not allow visitors to go higher still by dangerously clambering up the 200-foot antenna spire above it.
An Empire State Building spokesperson described Wednesday’s climb as an “unauthorised incident” in a statement that suggested that the couple should have instead opted for the building’s $1,000 “Happily Ever Empire Proposal Package” to rent out the observation deck.
Nikolau’s acrobatics run in the family, and her father, the Russian circus artist Dmitriy Nikolau, was aware of his daughter’s climb when answering a call from a reporter.
“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.”