Daredevil high-wire walker Nik Wallenda announced this week he will tackle a new challenge, walking on a moving 400-foot-high Florida observation wheel, the Orlando Eye.
As was done for his well-known high-wire walks over Niagara Falls and between Chicago skyscrapers, Wallenda will not be tethered when attempting to stay upright on the moving wheel on April 29.
"My whole life is about facing death in the eyes," the seventh-generation aerialist said at a news conference. "Do I think of death? Often."
Wallenda said he will walk on the outer rim of the spinning wheel, which looks somewhat like a ferris wheel. He will not carry a balancing pole.
The announcement of his next daring feat came just hours after Wallenda posted on his Facebook page that his uncle, Mario Wallenda, who was paralyzed in a 1962 circus accident, died on Sunday. The previous week, his grandmother
Jenny Wallenda, who also performed with the family in the past, died at age 87, the Herald Tribune reported.
“Extremely sad to have lost another great! Last night my Uncle Mario Wallenda passed away. This is truly a rough couple of weeks for my family,”
Wallenda wrote on Facebook. “Uncle Mario, thank you for all of the contributions and sacrifices that you made to help our family become who they are today! Thanks for the inspiration! We will never give up.”
Wallenda’s Chicago high-wire walk between skyscrapers was broadcast live and drew millions of viewers to watch him make the walk blindfolded, untethered, and without safety nets.
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