00:00US climber Alex Honnold scaled Taipei 101 without ropes or safety equipment on Sunday, drawing cheers from thousands of spectators as he climbed one of the world's tallest skyscrapers.
00:23Honnold reached the spire of Taiwan's tallest building after a 91-minute free solo ascent, organized and live-streamed by Netflix. The climb had been postponed by a day due to wet weather.
00:42What a view. It's incredible. I was like, what a beautiful day. It was very windy, so I was like, don't fall off the spire. I was trying to balance nicely.
00:49But no, I was like, what an incredible position. And I mean, what a beautiful way to see Taipei. It's so, and it's nice because we've been here all week and it's been gray and rainy, kind of socked in.
00:57And today was just so perfect. And you could see for miles, super clear. I was like, couldn't be a better time to be on the top of the spire appreciating the position.
01:05The 508-meter Taipei 101, a major tourist landmark, was the world's tallest building from 2004 to 2010, before being surpassed by Dubai's Burj Khalifa.
01:17The climb was carried out with full approval from Taipei 101 management and the city government.
01:23Honnold said he had once considered climbing the building without permission, but decided against it out of respect.
01:30But then out of respect for the building and respect for all the people on the team who had allowed me access to look at it, I was like, well, obviously I'm not going to poach this.
01:36Like, I'm going to, you know, respect the people and just see if it ever comes together.
01:40And so then for the project to come together more than a decade later, I'm like, oh, it's so great. What an opportunity. Yeah, it's such a pleasure.
01:46Taiwanese leaders welcomed the event, thanking Honnold and Netflix for showcasing Taiwan to a global audience beyond its usual international headlines.
01:56President Lai Ching-te congratulated Honnold, saying the live broadcast allowed the world to see Taiwan's warmth, energy and scenic beauty.
02:05This was not the first ascent of Taipei 101.
02:09In 2004, French climber Alain Robert, known as Spider-Man, climbed the tower with a safety rope, completing the climb in four hours.
