US5 min(s) read
Published 17:36 01 Jul 2026 GMT
Two people have climbed to the very top of the Empire State Building in New York City, unfurled a black flag carrying a message about peace - and then one of them appeared to propose.
The pair, dressed entirely in black and wearing ski masks, were filmed clinging to the building's transmission spire at a height of 1,454 feet above the streets of Midtown Manhattan on Wednesday afternoon.
The flag read: "When the power of love beats the love of power, the world knows peace" - a quote widely attributed to Jimi Hendrix, though historians have noted there is no verified recording or interview in which the legendary guitarist actually said it. The phrase has also been credited to 19th-century British Prime Minister William Gladstone.
Both climbers are now in police custody.
The pair have been identified as Angela Nikolau, 33, and Vanya Beerkus, 32 - a Russian couple who are among the most well-known 'rooftoppers' in the world.
They are the subjects of Skywalkers: A Love Story, a 2024 Netflix documentary that followed them across six countries and seven years as they illegally scaled some of the world's tallest buildings without safety equipment. The film premiered at Sundance before reaching the top 10 on Netflix in more than two dozen countries.
The couple, who now live in New York City, have previously climbed the Merdeka 118 in Kuala Lumpur - the second-tallest building in the world - as well as skyscrapers in China, France, and across Asia. They were once arrested after climbing a building in Paris and held in a cell overnight.
Nikolau, whose parents worked in the circus, was the first woman to participate in rooftopping as an art form. Beerkus has described climbing as an escape from a difficult home life growing up in Moscow.
"The higher I went, the easier it was to breathe," he said in the documentary.
Aerial footage from news helicopters showed the couple hanging from the building's transmission tower - the narrow antenna that sits above the 102nd floor observation deck and broadcasts signals for virtually all of New York's local TV and radio stations.
It is not clear how they gained access. The spire is well above any public area of the building and is normally inaccessible.
Witness Julie Morris, who was on the observation deck at the time, told CBS News New York: "We were right at the top. I could see two people open the gates - the mesh gates - they opened the gates, and they went up to the top."
After unfurling the banner, the pair were seen posting to social media from the top of the spire. An Instagram post from Nikolau's account appeared to show video filmed from the platform near the top of the building.
Then things took a surreal turn. Beerkus got down on one knee on the narrow ledge - more than 1,400 feet above Manhattan - and appeared to propose. The couple embraced and kissed. Nikolau removed her mask and was later photographed slipping on an engagement ring as they descended.
The NYPD deployed an elite Emergency Services Unit to the scene and sent a helicopter to hover near the spire. Around 40 officers were stationed at street level. The Fifth Avenue entrance between West 33rd and 34th Streets was closed and the observation deck was cleared of visitors.
Officers climbed the spire themselves and met the couple as they made their way down. Both were taken into custody just before 1pm.
Potential charges include criminal trespass and reckless endangerment. Under New York law, climbing a structure over 50 feet tall without authorisation is a class A misdemeanour, punishable by up to a year in jail, a $1,000 fine, or both.
Neither Nikolau nor Beerkus has a known criminal history in New York City.
As with most stunts of this kind, the response has been split.
"A powerful message displayed at one of the world's most iconic landmarks," one person wrote online. "A reminder that many people continue to call for peace and unity across the world."
"Absolute legends. That flag message hits different from the top of the Empire State," wrote another.
Others were less impressed.
"I don't really get the point of the ski masks. It's not like they're not going to be arrested and have their mugshots taken afterward," one person wrote.
Another suggested both climbers deserved a year in prison: "Maybe a year in prison for them as convicted felons would work to prove to them that actions have consequences, and not always the ones that were thought about."
Daredevils have previously scaled the antenna and other parts of the building, though those climbs have been largely unauthorised.
In 2023, actor and musician Jared Leto was given official permission to climb from the 86th floor to the base of the antenna as part of a tour promotion - a stunt that generated significant media coverage at the time.
Today's climb went considerably further. The couple reached the very top of the transmission tower, well above the point Leto ascended to, making it one of the most dramatic unauthorised ascents of the building in its 95-year history.
The stunt comes just days before the July 4 weekend, with the NYPD having only recently announced its security plans for the holiday alongside Mayor Mamdani.
Whether the timing was deliberate is unclear. But a Jimi Hendrix quote about peace, flown from the top of one of the most famous buildings on Earth, three days before America's 250th birthday, is - at the very least - a moment that is going to stick around online for a while.
