Alex Honnold, star of the Oscar-winning documentary Free Solo, is set to free solo Taipei 101, one of Asia’s tallest skyscrapers, in a live Netflix broadcast. The 1,667ft (508m) climb, scheduled for Saturday at 9am local time, will be streamed globally as part of Netflix’s push into live sports programming. Honnold has trained for three months and insists the climb will feel no different from any other ascent, despite the lack of ropes or margin for error.
The event, titled Skyscraper Live, has drawn both awe and ethical concern. Critics, including a Wall Street Journal columnist, have labelled it “voyeuristic, ghoulish and irresponsible”, citing the high number of free-solo deaths and Honnold’s role as a husband and father. The live stream will carry a viewer-discretion advisory and run on a 10-second delay, allowing Netflix to cut the feed if necessary. Honnold will remain in constant communication with his camera crew and producers.
Netflix is working with Plimsoll Productions and Secret Compass, both of which have collaborated with Honnold on previous high-stakes projects. A small live audience has been invited to watch in Taipei, and an on-air panel featuring elite climbers, a former ESPN anchor, a WWE champion and a Nasa engineer turned YouTuber will contextualise the attempt. Honnold has been spotted conducting rope-assisted test runs with permission from the Taipei city government.
Thousands of people are placing bets on Honnold’s fate and completion time on Polymarket, a cryptocurrency-based prediction market, where current odds suggest he will finish the climb in around 75 minutes. The Guardian understands that Netflix is disclosing the risks but also selling them, as the event is designed to draw viewers to the platform’s broader catalogue.
Some within the climbing community have opposed the live stream. Amateur climber Chien Ai said he would not watch, preferring to check news reports first. Teacher Yang Tse-hsiao, who has climbed for six years, expects Honnold to succeed but opposes the broadcast, questioning why it must be done this way other than for commercial reasons.
