David Blaine delays and relocates plans to soar into sky holding onto balloons
Performer and magician now planning to perform stunt in Arizona
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.David Blaine has delayed and amended his plans to soar into the sky over the Hudson River and into New York City, citing the stunt’s “complexity”.
The magician and performer shared the announcement on Sunday, the eve of his planned stunt.
“The idea is I want to grab a bunch of balloons and go floating all the way up into the sky until I almost disappear,” he explained.
“I’ve been working diligently on this with the best team in the world, but because of the complexity of this project, I’m not going forward with my plans to do New York City at this time.”
Blaine added that he’s now working to perform the stunt, dubbed “Ascension”, in Arizona, “the most beautiful backdrop that I’ve ever seen in my life”.
He hopes to ascend on 1 or 2 September, “but everything is wind-dependant”, he added.
The original plan would have seen Blaine fly from New Jersey to New York City on 31 August, in a set-up reminiscent of the Pixar film Up.
In an interview on the Today show on Monday, Blaine explained that the plan is to “jump down and land safely” at the end of the stunt, and that he’s “never done a full run-through”.
Once he’s up 5,000 to 6,000 feet, he plans on putting on a parachute.
The stunt will be live-streamed on YouTube in due time.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments