Who was the couple who climbed the Empire State Building?
Daredevil mountaineers Angela Nikolaou and Ivan Bielkas are making waves with their blatant marriage proposal atop the Empire State Building.
NEW YORK – Two masked climbers scaled the Empire State Building on July 1, delivering a message of love from the top of New York City’s iconic skyscraper.
The climbers identified themselves on social media as Russian couple Ivan Bielkas and Angela Nikolaou. This daredevil couple was the subject of the 2024 documentary “Skywalkers: A Love Story.”
Bielkas and Nicolau clung to the building’s 1,454-foot antenna and held up a banner that read, “When the power of love overcomes the love of force, the world will know peace.”
The climbers were taken into police custody after descending from the mountain at around 12:30 pm local time. New York City police officials have not confirmed the couple’s identities or said what charges they are facing.
USA TODAY reached out to the couple, who documented the climb on social media, for comment.
The desperate stunt caused unrest in the country’s largest city. NYPD officers responded to the scene and closed several streets around the building at 5th Avenue and 34th Street in midtown Manhattan.
Empire State Building officials say the facility is the fourth tallest building in the city and the sixth tallest in the United States.
Body camera video shows arrest of couple who climbed Empire State
Body camera footage released by the New York City Police Department shows a trespasser being arrested after climbing to the top of the Empire State Building.
‘oh my god. He proposed there.”
Stephanie Hazlewood, a New York resident who works on the fourth floor of the building, told USA TODAY she learned about the incident after a co-worker sent her a livestream of the video.
“One of my co-workers was like, ‘Oh my god, he proposed over there,'” Hazelwood recalled.
The NYPD could not immediately confirm to USA TODAY whether the two were engaged. Video taken from above showed the moment Bielkas appeared to get down on one knee to propose to Nicolau. She seemed to say yes, too, before the two embraced on the roof of a building.
In an Instagram post on July 1, Nicolau showed off her ring with the New York skyline in the background.
Hazelwood said she thought the two were just performance artists.
“But we don’t know exactly what it is,” Hazelwood said. “It’s just attention-grabbing, and it might seem like art.”
Hector Alvarez, who also witnessed the scene, said he saw the couple being led away in handcuffs and was awestruck by the couple’s actions.
“They looked like ninjas,” Alvarez told USA TODAY.
A spokesperson for the Empire State Building said the “fraud incident” was resolved in coordination with the NYPD. A spokesperson said there was no threat to tenants, visitors or guests of the Empire State Building Observation Deck.
“We want to emphasize that the Empire State Building Observation Deck, located atop the ‘world’s most famous building’ in the heart of New York City, offers a practical way for the most memorable marriage proposal,” a spokesperson said in a statement, providing a link to schedule a proposal.
Contributors: Eduardo Cuevas, Fernando Cervantes Jr.
This story has been updated to include video.
Natalie Neisa Alland is a senior reporter at USA TODAY. Contact her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her at X @nataliealund.
