Empire State Building proposal: Who is the Russian couple arrested for scaling New York tower?

The Beatles once sang All you need is love. But for Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus, a couple from Russia, they also needed a whole lot of courage. That’s because the two were atop the Empire State Building in New York City, where Ivan popped the question to Angela right after they unfurled a flag, which carried a message of… love.

The couple has now been arrested by authorities for their stunning marriage proposal atop the Empire State Building and charged with felony burglary, reckless endangerment, and criminal mischief, as well as misdemeanour charges and criminal trespass.

Following the incident, which went viral across the world, an Empire State Building spokesperson said: “The unauthorised incident at the building has been resolved with the constructive and helpful coordination of the New York Police Department. There was at no time danger to tenants, visitors, and Empire State Building Observation Deck guests.”

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But who are Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus, and how did they get up to the height of 1,454 feet above the streets of New York?

Scaling new heights for love

On a warm Wednesday (July 1), a couple dressed in all-black and wearing masks climbed to the very top of the Empire State Building in New York City.

Videos showed 33-year-old Angela and 32-year-old Ivan clinging to the building’s 1,454-foot-tall antenna, where they unfurled a banner that read, “When the power of love beats the love of power, the world knows peace.”

Ivan then went down on one knee and proposed to Angela. Any guesses on how she responded? It was a resounding yes. In an Instagram post on July 1, Angela showed off a ring with the New York skyline in the background.

Ivan Berkus goes down on one knee to propose to Angela Nikolau atop the Empire State Building. Image Courtesy: Angela Nikolau/Instagram

Shortly later, officials from the NYPD showed up, apprehending the pair. Body-cam footage from the police reveals what happened atop the iconic New York City building.

“Hey I got eyes on ‘em,” an NYPD officer can be heard saying in the video while climbing toward the loved-up couple.

“How you doing? You can’t be up here!”

“I’m OK,” responded Angela, before being taken into custody.

Confirming the incident, the NYPD said, “On Wednesday, July 1, 2026, approximately 1200 hours, two unknown individuals were observed on the antenna of the Empire State Building located 20 West 34 Street, within the confines of Midtown South Precinct. NYPD’s Emergency Services Unit responded. Two individuals were taken into custody without incident. There are no reported injuries.”

It’s not clear yet how the two climbed to the very top of the Empire State Building. A source has been quoted as telling the New York Post that the duo allegedly breached a mesh gate on the 102nd floor — the highest publicly accessible story — to reach the 103rd floor, which is exclusively used for maintenance.

The mesh gate and other security measures were recently installed in the stairwell between the 102nd and 103rd floors following previous attempts by trespassers to take selfies near the spire, according to sources.

Angela Nikolau flaunts a diamond ring from atop the Empire State Building. Image Courtesy: Angela Nikolau/Instagram

The incident has prompted all kinds of reactions. While some called it brave, others called it reckless.

Ahmed Hassan, 46, a hot dog vendor who works nearby, told The Post that he’d “never seen anything like it.” “Everyone stopped walking and started pointing up,” he said.

According to Jasmine Chen, a passerby, the two looked like a “tiny black dot”. “Was it terrorism? Was it a protest?” she told The Post. “But then I started hearing ‘marriage proposal,’ and someone showed me on Instagram the guy on one knee. “I thought it was actually incredibly romantic in this over-the-top way,” she said. “I wouldn’t mind a proposal like that.”

People look up at Angela and Ivan displaying a banner as they stage a protest atop the Empire State Building in the Manhattan borough of New York. Reuters

The loved-up couple behind the Empire State Building stunt

But who are Angela and Ivan, and why did they choose this stunt as their proposal?

The couple, originally from Russia and now living in New Jersey, isn’t new to this kind of daredevilry. In fact, the two of them are famous rooftoppers. Rooftoppers are those individuals who engage in scaling often restricted structures — such as skyscrapers, antennas, and bridges — to perform feats like balancing, hanging, or jumping at extreme heights.

Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus have made a name for themselves by scaling skyscrapers. Image Courtesy: Angela Nikolau/Instagram

Angela and Ivan were even the subjects of a Netflix 2024 documentary, Skywalkers: A Love Story, about their romance and quest for thrills and fame.

They have earned notoriety for scaling different tall structures. The buildings they’ve previously climbed include the 1,957-foot Goldin Finance 117, China’s tallest incomplete skyscraper, and Merdeka 118 in Malaysia, the second-tallest building in the world at 2,227 feet.

In the past, Ivan told the BBC that rooftopping gives him purpose. “It gives me inspiration, it gives me motivation to live.” Meanwhile, Angela said, “Rooftopping is my art form.”

When he’s not climbing buildings, Ivan has a career in music. On the other hand, Angela is a painter with a background in dance and acrobatics.

Interestingly, Angela’s father also climbs roofs himself. When asked about his daughter’s stunt atop the Empire State Building, Dmitriy Nikolau, Angela’s father, told Reuters, “Why should I be worried? I climb up roofs myself. I think it is normal to climb up a ‌roof ‌in any country, including the United States, according to any constitution.”

Angela and Ivan have been together since 2016 and scaling buildings around the world. Image Courtesy: Ivan Beerkus/Facebook

The two first met in 2016 and have been rooftopping ever since. According to the documentary on the couple, Angela was the less experienced of the two and looked up to Ivan, seeking to emulate his climbs.

The couple has also spoken of the risks behind rooftopping. In Skywalkers: A Love Story, Nikolau says, “We’ve been arrested before.”

Even Angela spoke of their previous arrests. “While others follow the rules, we move above the system — literally,” she said. “Because it’s up there, at the height, where we remember who we truly are.”

Climbing the Empire State Building

It’s not often that people do what Angela and Ivan have done at the Empire State Building. It is a surface that is not frequently scaled. In 1994, the French climber Alain Robert did so, according to the Guinness World Records website.

In 2023, singer and actor Jared Leto scaled 18 floors of the Empire State Building, from the 86th floor to the top floor, with permission, to promote a world tour for his band Thirty Seconds to Mars. He then performed one of the band’s songs from the top of the building.

With inputs from agencies