Nik Wallenda, seventh-generation member of the famed "Flying Wallendas" acrobatic performance family, is planning to walk more than 50 floors above and across the Chicago River, between Marina City's west tower to the Leo Burnett Building - at night, without a net or harness - on Nov. 2.
"This is going to be the most incredible tightrope walk of my career," Wallenda said Tuesday afternoon in a prepared statement released by the Discovery Channel, which will televise the event live. "I can't think of a better city to do it."
Wallenda added that he has fond memories of when his family performed in Chicago. Also, he has said the "Windy City" nickname offers an intriguing element to market the event.
""Besides, it's the 'Windy City' and there's nothing like doing this during winter in Chicago," Wallenda said, although winter officially starts in December. "That's a challenge for me and I love to push myself to do things that most people think are impossible."
In making the decision, Wallenda and his team, including his retired acrobat father, used maps, photographs and bird's-eye views from Google Earth. They concentrated on minimizing traffic and business disruptions while trying to allow space for live audiences.
In a prepared statement when plans were taking shape months ago, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel was enthusiastic about the wire walk, noting that Chicago was home to the first skyscraper.
The city "has played host to countless world events," Emanuel said, "and this will be one for the history books. We are thrilled Nik Wallenda has chosen our great city with its iconic skyline as the site of his next walk."
Wallenda has relatively recent stage experience in Chicago. From 2005 to 2010, Wallenda joined his sister, Lijana, a costume designer at Lookingglass Theatre, three times for "Hephaestus: A Greek Mythology Circus Tale." Wallenda served as a safety advisor, helping coordinate a seven-person pyramid on a high wire, and performed in the show.
The broadcasts of his tightwire walks draw widespread interest. In June, his quarter-mile walk across an Arizona gorge over the Little Colorado River drew an estimated 13 million viewers to Discovery.