Free-solo climber Alex Honnold conquers Taipei 101 live on Netflix

[TAIPEI] Alex Honnold completed a free-solo ascent of Taipei 101, scaling the skyscraper in one of Netflix’s most ambitious and riskiest live-streaming sports events. 

Honnold took a selfie from the top of the building, which he climbed in 95 minutes, and appeared mesmerised by the view of Taipei.

“I am so psyched,” he said. “You know what? Pretty tired.”

The 40-year-old US climber started his mission to ascend the exterior of the 508-meter glass-and-steel skyscraper at about 9.10 am local time on Sunday (Jan 25), a day after the event was postponed because of rain. The delay fuelled more attention online, with viewers speculating about the risks and how quickly he could complete the challenge.

Hundreds of fans gathered outside the building, while a helicopter circled overhead in the blue skies with only a few scattered clouds visible. Honnold, wearing a red T-shirt, black pants and a wireless earpiece, paused at the base of the tower, looking up before beginning his first-ever skyscraper climb. 

As he ascended, he waved at the tenants inside, who cheered and took photos. 

“It is very different than my usual free-soloing experience, but you know what? It’s cool,” he said as he past the hour mark on his ascent.  “It’s like we are all sharing this great experience together, especially all the people inside the building. They’ll probably never think of their window the same way.”

The building houses offices of businesses including Google, McKinsey & Co and the Taiwan Stock Exchange.

The unprecedented live event marks a turning point not just for Honnold, but also for Netflix and the sport itself, shifting elite climbing from remote cliffs and edited documentaries to a real-time spectacle for a global audience.

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It’s also a boost for Taiwan, with publicity surrounding the climb a high-profile soft power win for the island.

Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te congratulated Honnold for completing the challenge in a Facebook post, and thanked “every unsung hero behind the scenes who made this challenge possible and brought Taiwan to the international stage”.

“Through Netflix’s live stream, the world not only saw Taipei 101, but also the passionate people of Taiwan, and the beautiful hills and landscapes of this land. It was truly moving!” he said.

Legendary

Honnold’s resume is already legendary. He became a household name after his rope-free climb of Yosemite’s El Capitan, captured in the Oscar-winning documentary Free Solo, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest natural rock climbers of his generation. Despite decades of record-setting ascents, his skyscraper mission is the first time one of his feats has unfolded live before spectators both on the ground and on a streaming platform.

Taipei 101, the world’s tallest building when it opened in 2004, has been climbed before. Urban climbing legend Alain Robert, the Frenchman known as “Spider-Man”, scaled the tower in 2004 using ropes, taking more than four hours. Robert also holds records for climbing landmarks including Dubai’s Burj Khalifa. But Honnold’s ropeless and live-streamed ascent has raised the stakes dramatically.

The climb comes as part of Netflix’s broader push into live programming, a strategic shift aimed at creating must-see moments that cut through an increasingly crowded on-demand market and support growth in both subscribers and advertising revenue. Over the past year, the company has streamed live sports and entertainment, including WWE and NFL games.

In Asia, Netflix is estimated to have penetration of about 27 per cent. Beginning in March, the platform will exclusively stream World Baseball Classic games in Japan, one of the country’s most anticipated sporting events following Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s World Series victory. BLOOMBERG