Two people got to the top of the Empire State Building’s antenna and unfurled a banner about “the power of love” at midday Wednesday, before starting to descend, embracing, taking selfies, and ultimately being arrested.
It would appear they also became engaged during the climb.
Dressed in black and wearing masks, the two balanced on a narrow ledge and appeared to kiss atop the New York skyscraper’s antenna, which rises 1,454 feet above midtown Manhattan, video showed. The banner, reading “When the power of love beats the love of power the world knows peace,” waved in the wind.
Just after 12:30 p.m., they began to climb down, efficiently picking their way along the latticework of metal to a wider ledge, where one seemed to set up a piece of electronic equipment and got down on one knee. After the two kissed again and hugged, the other person took selfies with an outstretched left hand, as if examining a ring.
Take a look —
Two activists just climbed to the top of the Empire State Building 🤯 pic.twitter.com/H0yxOwFJHY
— Eric Spracklen 🇺🇸 (@EricSpracklen) July 1, 2026
Wow — one of the climbers atop the Empire State Building appears to have gotten down on one knee and proposed to the other pic.twitter.com/B3SXhyv5YH
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 1, 2026
Onlookers gaped from the sidewalks near the Art Deco high-rise.
“It’s crazy — it’s like being in the movies,” said Jonathan Roman, a tourist visiting from Glasgow, Scotland. He and his 15-year-old son had tickets to go up to one of the observation platforms but arrived to find the building blocked off because of the antenna activity.
Still, the spectacle was “probably more exciting than going up to the viewing platform for the second time,” Roman reasoned.
Police took the two climbers into custody after 1 p.m.; their names weren’t immediately released. No one was injured, police said.
It wasn’t clear how the pair gained access to the antenna, which rises well above public areas of the 102-story building.
There was no immediate reply to a message to the building’s management.
Daredevils have previously climbed the antenna and other parts of the Empire State Building. Those ascents have largely been unauthorized, but actor and musician Jared Leto was allowed to climb up to the base of the antenna from the 86th floor in 2023 to promote a tour.
The Associated Press contributed to this article