Frenchman Alain ”Spiderman” Robert will climb the world’s tallest building, the 508m Taipei 101, on Saturday as warm-up for the skyscraper’s official opening on December 31, Taipei 101 management said on Thursday.
”Alain Robert expressed the wish to climb Taipei 101 a year ago. We recently issued the invitation to him,” Taipei 101 said in a news release.
”This will be another challenge for him after he has climbed the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Sears Tower in Chicago, the Opera House in Sydney and Petronas Twin Tower in Kuala Lumpur,” the news release said.
Robert (42) will climb Taipei 101 up to its spire with bare hands but wearing a safety belt like the ones used by high-rise window washers.
Taipei 101 will appoint nine video cameramen and one photographer to record the feat, and transmit the footage simultaneously to local and overseas television stations via satellite.
The event will be cancelled if the wind is too strong or rain is too heavy.
Taipei 101’s formal name is the Taipei Financial Centre. It is called Taipei 101 because it has 101 floors above the ground.
President Chen Shui-bian will open Taipei 101 on the evening of December 31, followed by a party, a fireworks display and countdown for the new year organised by the Taipei city government. — Sapa-DPA