Skywire Live with Nik Wallenda is a Discovery Channel special that aired on June 23, 2013. The special was billed as a highwire walk across "the majestic Grand Canyon". Interpretations varied as to whether the actual location – the Little Colorado River Gorge in Navajo territory outside Grand Canyon National Park's borders – was truly part of the Grand Canyon.
Highwire artist Nik Wallenda had been planning to walk across the canyon since 2008, but put the plan on hold first due to logistical difficulties and then to highwire walk over Niagara Falls in 2012. After his success at Niagara, he accelerated plans to cross the canyon. In March 2013, Wallenda and Discovery came to terms on television rights for the walk.
To prepare, Wallenda practiced in his home town of Sarasota, Florida in heavy winds, including during Tropical Storm Andrea. On June 23, he successfully completed the walk without safety devices in approximately 23 minutes, making him the first person to tightrope walk across a Grand Canyon area gorge. At , it was the highest walk of his career. Afterwards, Wallenda said it was more difficult than he had expected.
Skywire Live aired live in over 200 countries worldwide. It was a ratings success in the United States, generating Discovery's highest-ever rating for a live broadcast. The show also generated a lot of interest of social media, with Wallenda's public display of his Christian faith being a focal point.
Background
Nik Wallenda is American highwire artist and member of the famed Flying Wallendas circus family. He has been walking the wire since age two and now holds seven world records. In 2008, he set the record for highest and longest bicycle ride across a tightrope. In 2012, he became the first person to successfully tightrope walk directly over Niagara Falls. The feat aired live on ABC who, much to the dismay of Wallenda, decided at the last minute that he would have to wear a safety harness for the event.
The Grand Canyon area has played host to a number of high-profile stunts and daredevil feats. In 1922, Royal Thomas flew a Lincoln Stanard biplane into Grand Canyon National Park, landing just from the Canyon's edge. The park did not yet have stunting regulations and the feat was approved by park superintendent Walter Crosby. In 1980, stuntman Dar Robinson drove a sportscar over the canyon's edge, parachuting out of the car as it fell. He did the stunt in Hualapai Indian Reservation after being denied a permit by the National Park. In 1999, daredevil Robbie Knievel jumped a narrow portion of canyon in Hualapai territory on a motorcycle, breaking his own world record for longest jump in the process. The event aired live on Fox News. In 2006, Bob Burnquist skateboarded off a ramp into the canyon, descending to the bottom with a parachute. In 2011, Yves "Jetman" Rossy used a custom made jet suit to glide above the Hualapai reservation for eight minutes. He covered a distance of before parachuting into the canyon.
Planning
Nik Wallenda originally secured permits to walk across "the Grand Canyon" in 2008, and planned to make the trip as early as 2009. However, the walk was delayed due to substantial logistical hurdles. His agent, Winston Simone, commented "There's no electricity [at the planned location], there's no hotels, and for the last half-hour there are no paved roads." Additionally, at a then-estimated distance of , the feat would be the longest walk of Wallenda's career by a significant margin. When the opportunity to cross Niagara Falls arose, the Grand Canyon walk was put on hold. Shortly after crossing Niagara Falls, Wallenda said he would try to make the Grand Canyon crossing "within a year". In August 2012, he said that he was "98 percent" certain that the walk would take place in May or June 2013 and announced he would get "something in writing" that no safety harness would be required for the walk.
On March 18, 2013, Wallenda announced that he had come to terms with The Discovery Channel for television rights. ABC also bid for the walk, but was concerned about the show being repetitive with the Niagara walk and was not prepared to pay as much as Discovery. Additionally, Discovery emphasized its international footprint and promised Wallenda that he would not have to wear a safety device. After he came to terms with Discovery, both Wallenda and his network partners had to finalize permits with the Navajo. According to a tribal spokesperson, the decision to allow the walk was not taken lightly. The process included archaeological, biological, and environmental impact studies.