Should We Really Be Encouraging The Wallenda Falls Walk?

By Imogen Reed

There can be few people in Niagara who haven’t yet heard of Nik Wallenda. His daredevil antics over the Falls this Friday, June 15 will be the latest in a long line of feats that have taken place at world’s most famous waterfall.

High wire walker Nik Wallenda joins Niagara Parks Commission chair Janice Thomson this June 13 at a media conference in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Photo by Doug Draper

Wallenda is not the first to tightrope walk the Falls. The stunt was first achieved by Jean François  Gravelet, aka Charles Blondin, in 1859, and dozens have accomplished the same feat since. Although, Wallenda’s 1,800 feet walk is the first across the actual brink of the Falls, as other attempts have been downstream, and not for more than 100 years.

Over the years, the Falls have seen a number of other daredevil stunts, such as the famous barrel drops, first achieved by 63-year-old schoolteacher Annie Edson Taylor in 1901. However, while these events attract huge crowds, does the Niagara region really need such antics?

As with previous stunts at the Falls, Wallenda’s tightrope walk is attracting huge crowds, with people coming from across America, and the world, to see such a feat. This is certainly a welcome boost to the local economy, with hotels, bars, and restaurants benefiting from a temporary boon. The event didn’t cost Niagara anything either. The estimated $1.3 million of Wallenda’s stunt, including the local policing, security, fencing, installation of portable toilets and the introduction of 2,000 extra car parking spaces for the day, came out of Wallenda’s own pocket.

Furthermore, a major American network, ABC, is televising the event live across America, and for a few short minutes, the region of Niagara promises to become the centre of attention. However, while everybody in the Niagara region is no doubt proud of the famous natural wonder, stunts such as Wallenda’s tightrope walk are in danger of cheapening the real reason people visit the falls.

There is no getting away from the importance of the Falls for both the New York and Ontarian Cities of Niagara Falls. Not only do both economies rely on tourism as a major source of income, but the Falls also provides a source of energy and a symbol of the region’s identity. Just as Las Vegas and gambling are inseparable, so are the Falls and the region of Niagara. However, the beauty of Niagara Falls requires no help from daredevil antics to attract attention. It is one of the wonders of the world and famous across the globe.

Both the American and the Horseshoe Falls attract huge numbers of people on both sides of the border each year, and both New York’s and Ontario’s Niagara Falls deserve their nicknames of the “Honeymoon Capitals of the World.” Where else in America can you find such a beautiful and romantic backdrop to begin a marriage, so it hardly needs a boost from tightrope walks, barrel drops and other antics.

Furthermore, antics such as those by Wallenda may be encouraging a more sinister side to the Falls. This May saw two suicide attempts in two days. One of these people miraculously survived, and was hospitalized with broken ribs, a collapsed lung and numerous gashes and cuts, making him one of only four people to survive such a plunge. The other person was not so lucky.

Each year, both sides of the falls see 20 to 30 people end their lives. Of course, a famous and potent landmark as Niagara Falls will always attract suicide attempts. After all, both the Grand Canyon and the Golden Gate Bridge have their fair share of suicide victims each year, but is it just coincidence that two people chose to jump just as the hype around Wallenda’s tightrope walk began to build up steam? Psychologists don’t think it is.

“It is something else that kind of gets the Falls out there, kind of plants a seed in people’s minds,” Timothy M. Osberg, a clinical psychologist and professor of psychology at Niagara University was reported as saying.

While nobody wants to be a killjoy, perhaps the events typified by Wallenda’s walk, are not doing the region of Niagara any favors. Niagara Falls is one of the most beautiful sights in the world, and perhaps we should spend more time promoting its natural beauty than turning the Falls into a circus sideshow for the day.

Imogen Reed is a pen name for Betsy Rogers, a freelance finance writer from England who writes primarily about buy to let insurance. Reading about the Wallenda exploits reminded her of a wonderful trip to Niagara a few years ago, and Niagara At Large is please she has chosen our site to share some of her thoughts on them.

(Niagara At Large invites you to share your views below, remembering that we only post comments by individuals who also share their first and last names.)