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Empire State Building climbing stunt turns into proposal — then arrest

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Ivan Beerkus and Angela Nikolau attend Netflix's Skywalkers: A Love Story Tribeca Film Festival Premiere at AMC Lincoln Square Theater on June 12, 2024 in New York City

Some New York City proposals involve a skyline view. This one involved police custody.

Two people were arrested Wednesday, July 1, after climbing to the top of the Empire State Building, unfurling a banner, and apparently turning the whole thing into a marriage proposal 1,454 feet above midtown Manhattan.

The pair was spotted around noon on the building’s antenna, dressed in black and wearing face coverings. They attached a banner that read, "When the power of love beats the love of power, the world knows peace." It's a take on a quote frequently attributed to guitarist Jimi Hendrix, but actually spoken by 19th-century British politician William Gladstone.

After spending roughly half an hour near the top of the tower, the two began climbing down to a lower platform, where one appeared to get down on one knee. Because apparently the observation deck was too basic.

The climbers were identified as Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus, the Russian daredevil couple and content creators highlighted in the 2024 Netflix documentary Skywalkers: A Love Story.

Nikolau, a former gymnast and the daughter of circus performers, and Beerkus, a longtime "rooftopper," have built their public personas around illegal climbs of skyscrapers and landmarks around the world. The documentary follows both their relationship and one of their most dangerous stunts: an attempt to scale Malaysia’s Merdeka 118, one of the tallest buildings on the planet.

Once at the top, the couple made sure to post to their social media, and the photos went immediately viral.

Police took the pair into custody after they descended, while a spokesperson for The Empire State Building called the incident “unauthorized." Their social media team, on the other hand, used the moment to poke fun at another big event happening in New York City this week (cough Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce).

It is still unclear how the climbers got access to the antenna, which rises far above the building’s public areas. The Empire State Building remained open during at least part of the incident, though the observation deck was reportedly later cleared as police responded.

This was not the first time someone had climbed the Empire State Building — daredevils and climbers, like Alain Roberthave, who scaled the building in 1994, have previously made their way onto the building’s antenna and other restricted areas, while Jared Leto legally scaled part of the landmark in 2023 to promote a Thirty Seconds to Mars tour.

As for proposals, this definitely was the first that didn't take place on the observation deck.



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