Who are the Russian couple behind the Empire State Building proposal?

Angela Nikolau, 33, and Ivan Beerkus, 32, are the Russian couple identified as the climbers who scaled the Empire State Building's antenna on July 1, unfurled a banner, and got engaged before being taken into custody.

The video from the news helicopter clearly captured the two, wearing all black clothes and face masks, reaching the top of the 1,454-foot spire while unfurling the banner which says, "When the power of love beats the love of power, the world knows peace." At the same time, Beerkus sat on one knee and proposed to Nikolau, which she accepted. Later, when the couple were climbing back down, they got arrested.

Who is the couple that climbed the Empire State Building?

Nikolau and Beerkus are known internationally as 'rooftoppers', a term for urban explorers who scale skyscrapers and other tall structures without authorisation.

The pair began climbing together in 2016 and were the subjects of the 2024 Netflix documentary "Skywalkers: A Love Story", which followed their ascents of landmarks, including Malaysia's Merdeka 118 and China's then-unfinished Goldin Finance 117. Nikolau said earlier this year that the couple had relocated from Moscow to New Jersey.

The duo will be charged with burglary, reckless endangerment, and criminal mischief, among other offences, including criminal trespass and possession of burglar's tools.

According to the Empire State Building, the event did not endanger the lives of any visitor or tenant; as per the information given by the NYPD, there were no reports of any injuries sustained. It is believed that they gained access to the antenna by climbing through the locked hatch from the 102nd floor of the building.

It is interesting to note that the line quoted on their banner does not belong to Jimi Hendrix but was used by a nineteenth-century British politician, William Gladstone. Angela's father, Dmitriy Nikolau, a Russian circus performer, told Reuters he wasn't concerned by the stunt, saying climbing rooftops felt "normal... in any country".