Philippe Petit: The Frenchman who crossed the Twin Towers

On 7 August 1974, people walking through the streets of Manhattan, in the city of Manhattan, were New YorkThey were surprised to look up and see a man walking on a cable linking the rooftops of the two imposing Twin Towers. This man, he was Philippe Petit, a French tightrope walkerwho was on that day realising a dream that had begun six years earlier.

And the fact is that Petitobsessed with the idea of crossing the Twin Towers balancing, since 1968, when in a magazine in the waiting room of a dentist's office he read the news about the forthcoming construction of the World Trade Center in the city of New York. Seeing the illustration of what would be the towers He immediately imagined himself climbing them, stretching a cable across the span that separates them and balancing on the heights.

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To achieve this, the French tightrope walkerIn addition to this, he undertook the task of collecting all the information he could get his hands on about the construction of the buildings. New YorkHe was able to observe and photograph as many details of the building as possible. With all that he collected - notes, photographs, press articles - he was able to make a scale representation of the building. the towers to get an idea of everything that could happen when walking on the heights.

In addition, Philippe PetitHe took advantage of his visits to the Twin Towers to observe every aspect of safety and logistics at work, such as schedules, clothing, identification and so on, in order to find a way to gain access with his group of assistants to the upper floors of the towers without attracting attention.

Here are some more details of the feat achieved that day by this French artistWe also give you some important aspects of his life and his beginnings in this profession. We also give you information about the film "The Challengewhich was inspired by this unrepeatable event.

How many times did you cross the Twin Towers?

There were eight times that Petit crossed the almost 60-metre distance between the Twin TowersThe challenge started at 7:15 a.m. and lasted for 45 minutes, until the rain forced him to finish his deed and turn himself in to the police officers who were waiting to arrest him.

The night of 6 August, Petit and their collaborators, divided into two groups, gained access to the rooftops of the the towers by means of the freight lift, carrying with him, among other things, a 200 kilogram cable to join the Twin Towers and an 8-metre bar for balance.

Using a bow and arrow, they set about the task of placing the cable in the right position, which they managed to do after several attempts, and then, hiding in an office, they waited until dawn to start the the featAt the same time as the construction workers were due to start work on the lower floors.

During his walking on the cable at an altitude of more than 400 metres; Petit wanted to entertain the people who were crowding down below. To do so, he greeted them with bows, lay down on the cable, danced and even got into conversation with a seagull that flew up to him.

At the end of the event, Philippe was arrested and brought to trial for lack of permits to perform this feat. However, due to the good public perception of this event, the charges were dropped and he was punished by performing a similar show, but at a lower height, in order to entertain the children of the city. This show was held at the Central Park and consisted of crossing Lake Belvedere. In addition, to Petit was granted a special pass that would allow him to have access to the rooftops of the Twin Towers for life.

The beginning of Petit

Born in the French town of NemoursOn August 13, 1949, the young man Philippe never showed much interest in academics, to the point that by the age of 18 he had already been expelled from five schools, and it was at that time that he decided to dedicate himself to studying the trades that caught his attention, thus becoming a true autodidact, even learning English, German, Russian and Spanish in this way.

Although the feats that made him known to the world were as a tightrope walker, Philippe Petit He also made his living as a magician, mime and juggler; performing on the streets for tourists, until he became passionate about the funambulismIn the 1970s, he began to make a name for himself as a well-known tightrope walker by crossing the towers of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.

From that event onwards he began to travel the world with his craft and performed in emblematic places in the countries he visited, one of the most famous acts was in the Sydney Bridge in Australia. In the meantime, he was still researching and planning how to realise the dream he had been pursuing, the crossing of the Twin Towers.

"The Challenge

This event was the inspiration for a film called "The Challenge, under the direction of American director Robert Zemeckis, whose experience includes such famous films as "Back to the Future", "Forrest Gump" and "The Castaway Man". In making the film, Zemeckis based his work on the memoirs of Philippe Petit and in addition to being the director, he also participated in the writing of the screenplay along with Christopher Browne.

The actor who played Philippe was Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who the French tightrope walker provided him with training in the art of walking the rope The cast also included the famous actor Ben Kingsley who played the role of Papa Rudy, tightrope walker mentor of Petit in reality. The release date of "The Challenge was released on 26 September 2015. A total of 35 million dollars were needed to make the film, and the amount earned in the United States at the box office reached 61 million dollars.

Cover. Philippe Petit crossing the Twin Towers on a cable. Photo Archive