NEW YORK (AP) — Fifty years after his iconic high-wire walk between the twin towers of New York's World Trade Center, Philippe Petit recreated the death-defying stunt with a performance about 7 miles north of the trade center at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.
The artist, 74, sought to celebrate the “glorious days of the twin towers” rather than focus on their tragic end in a terrorist attack on Sept. 11, 2001.
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Sting performs in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Philippe Petit's World Trade Center Twin Towers high-wire walk at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine on Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
Philippe Petit lies on a tightrope inside the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine to mark the 50th anniversary of his World Trade Center Twin Towers high-wire walk, on Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
Philippe Petit walks a tightrope inside the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine to mark the 50th anniversary of his World Trade Center Twin Towers high-wire walk, on Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
Philippe Petit walks a tightrope inside the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine to mark the 50th anniversary of his World Trade Center Twin Towers high-wire walk, on Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
Philippe Petit walks a tightrope inside the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine to mark the 50th anniversary of his World Trade Center Twin Towers high-wire walk, on Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
“I don’t have to remind people of the doomed day,” Petit told The Associated Press after Wednesday's performance.
Petit said he aimed to honor both his remarkable feat and the legacy of the towers.
“It adds a certain significance when you discuss a legend or a piece of history, even when the object of that history is no longer present. That’s the miracle of memory,” Petit said.
The performance, titled “Towering!!,” recreated Petit’s unauthorized walk between the towers on August 7, 1974. After ascending to his perch inside the cathedral and reflecting on the day’s memories, Petit took to the wire while Grammy-nominated jazz clarinetist Anat Cohen played beneath him.
As Petit continued his daring walk, Sting took the stage to perform “Fragile.” Later, Petit donned a sequined gold tunic while “Fields of Gold” played in the background.
Petit harnessed the stunning visual and acoustic splendor of the world’s largest Gothic cathedral to recreate the grandeur of his historic walk 1,300 feet (400 meters) above the ground. Conceived and directed by Petit himself, the production featured a series of short scenes that brought his 1974 feat to life.
Petit was arrested after crossing the towers and depicts that in the performance, which continues for a second night on Thursday.
At one point in the show, while reflecting on the success of the Oscar-winning documentary “Man on Wire,” which chronicled his famous walk, Petit admitted that he handled success poorly, including distancing himself from his friends.
“I was really bad to my best friend Jean-Louis Blondeau, who has been the mastermind more than me on this adventure,” Petit said.
After the performance, Petit received a proclamation from the office of New York City Mayor Eric Adams designating the day as Philippe Petit Day.
Petit has been an artist in residence at St. John the Divine for over 40 years and has performed 23 times to support the cathedral.
Sting performs in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Philippe Petit's World Trade Center Twin Towers high-wire walk at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine on Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
Philippe Petit lies on a tightrope inside the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine to mark the 50th anniversary of his World Trade Center Twin Towers high-wire walk, on Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
Philippe Petit walks a tightrope inside the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine to mark the 50th anniversary of his World Trade Center Twin Towers high-wire walk, on Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
Philippe Petit walks a tightrope inside the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine to mark the 50th anniversary of his World Trade Center Twin Towers high-wire walk, on Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
Philippe Petit walks a tightrope inside the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine to mark the 50th anniversary of his World Trade Center Twin Towers high-wire walk, on Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un dismissed U.S. intent to resume diplomacy on North Korea’s denuclearization, saying Tuesday the North flatly opposes any attempt to deny its position as a nuclear weapons state.
Since beginning his second term in January, U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly bragged of his personal ties with Kim Jong Un and expressed hopes of restarting nuclear diplomacy between them. Their high-stakes diplomacy in 2018-19 unraveled due to disputes over U.S.-led sanctions. Kim has since performed a provocative run of weapons tests to modernize and expand his nuclear arsenal.
In a statement carried by state media, Kim Yo Jong said that “It is worth taking into account the fact that the year 2025 is neither 2018 nor 2019.”
“Any attempt to deny the position of the DPRK as a nuclear weapons state which was established along with the existence of a powerful nuclear deterrent and fixed by the supreme law reflecting the unanimous will of all the DPRK people will be thoroughly rejected,” she said, referring to her country by its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
She said she was responding to reported comments by a U.S. official that Trump is still open to talks with Kim Jong Un on the North's complete denuclearization. She likely was referring to a Saturday article by Yonhap news agency that cited an unidentified White House official as saying that Trump “remains open to engaging with Leader Kim to achieve a fully denuclearized North Korea.”
Kim Yo Jong said she doesn’t deny the personal relationship between her brother and Trump “is not bad.” But she said if their personal relations are to serve the purpose of North Korea’s denuclearization, North Korea would view it as “nothing but a mockery."
“If the U.S. fails to accept the changed reality and persists in the failed past, the DPRK- U.S. meeting will remain as a ‘hope’ of the U.S. side,” Kim Yo Jong said.
Her comments suggested complete denuclearization won’t be up for negotiation. Experts earlier said North Korea would only be interested in talks on a partial surrender of its nuclear capability in return for sanctions relief and other benefits, a tactic that could allow North Korea to retain some of its key nuclear weapons after winning what it wants from the U.S.
The earlier Trump-Kim diplomacy collapsed after Trump rejected Kim’s calls for extensive sanctions relief in return for dismantling his main nuclear complex, a limited denuclearization step.
On Monday, Kim Yo Jong rebuffed overtures by South Korea’s new liberal government, saying its “blind trust” in the country’s alliance with the U.S. and hostility toward North Korea make it no different from its conservative predecessor.
Her comments imply that North Korea — now preoccupied with its expanding cooperation with Russia — sees no need to resume diplomacy with South Korea anytime soon. Experts say Kim Yo Jong also likely seeks to drive a wedge between Seoul and Washington.
FILE - This photo provided by the North Korean government, Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, delivers a speech during a national meeting against the coronavirus, in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Aug. 10, 2022. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File)