00:00Nick and Liana Walenda, part of the famous flying Walenda circus family, made
00:13history on Sunday night after successfully completing a never-before-attempted
00:18high-wire walk across Times Square. The death-defying stunt was broadcast live on
00:22ABC in a two-hour special, High Wire Live in Times Square, hosted by Aaron Andrews
00:27and Michael Strahan, where the two siblings crossed a 1,300-foot-long wire strung between
00:32two skyscrapers in Times Square, 25 stories up in the air. The pair were both wearing
00:37safety harnesses as a requirement by New York City and were also mic'd up during the
00:42broadcast so the viewers were able to hear the duo communicating to each other during their
00:45walk. The plan was for the siblings to start on either side of the wire, meet in the middle,
00:50and then pass each other on the wire. To do this, Nick had to pause until Liana could reach
00:55him. She then sat on the wire as Nick stepped over her. Although the plan went off without a
00:59hitch, Liana did have to readjust her balancing pole before standing back up. Nick reached
01:03the end of the wire approximately 10 minutes before Liana, bringing the entire walk to a
01:07total of 36 minutes. The end result was particularly rewarding for Liana as this marked
01:12her first high-wire stunt since she was severely injured in 2017 while attempting an
01:17eight-person pyramid on a wire. She spoke to Andrews and Strahan just ahead of the stunt, saying,
01:22The ABC special detailed Liana's accident and her rehabilitation, along with other
01:39Walenda family stunts, which dates all the way back to the 1700s. Nick spoke to THR ahead of
01:44Sunday's stunt saying,
01:45Our life and our career has always been about inspiring people to believe that nothing is
01:49impossible no matter what challenges you might face. And my sister is the perfect
01:53example of that. The Walenda's Times Square stunt is just one of many high-wire
01:57accomplishments for Nick. The king of the high-wire was the first person to walk on a
02:01tightrope across the Grand Canyon and Niagara Falls. For more on this story, head to THR.com
02:06and until next time, for The Hollywood Reporter News, I'm Neha Joy.
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