A free climber from Manchester posed as a construction worker in order to scale and hang off the tallest crane in Dubai.
21-year-old Adam Lockwood, from Wigan, successfully scaled the crane without any safety equipment and hung off it with just one hand after he managed to gain entry to the 77-storey residential skyscraper, Il Primo – which is directly next to the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa.
He posed as a construction worker and attempted to dodge the real construction workers on his ascent to the top.
Video footage documenting Lockwood’s death-defying journey to top of the 390 metre (1,280ft) crane has been shared to his YouTube channel, and has already racked up over tens and thousands of views.
Lockwood said the whole experience was “surreal”.
ADVERTISEMENT
During the seven-minute YouTube video of the journey to completing the stunt – which was was carried out at 5:45am, and mostly filmed on a GoPro – Lockwood pretended to be a construction worker who had forgotten something in order to gain access to the building, but after being initially shouted at by a genuine site worker, had to changed stairwells eight times over two hours to evade others.
With the sun rise and glittering cityscape providing the dramatic backdrop to the stunt, the video then shows Lockwood flipping and moving around the crane’s structure, and then hanging off the top of it with one just hand.
ADVERTISEMENT
The video then ends with him emerging onto the streets with a stunned expression, looking up at the towering skyscrapers.
Lockwood said he experience as “the most incredible thing I’ve ever done”, but described it as “almost peaceful” as his “brain is blank” when he performs stunts.
“When I first looked at the footage, I was thinking to myself: ‘This is it, this is the most incredible thing I’ve done,” he said. “It’s something I know I can do and that 99% of the world can’t and never will do, so I feel obliged to use my ability and enjoy doing it in the process.”
ADVERTISEMENT
He admitted he “slept for the whole day” afterwards.
He successfully scaled the 1,280ft crane without any safety equipment and hung off it with just one hand / Credit: Adam Lockwood (via YouTube – Nuisance)
This isn’t the first time Lockwood has attempted previous stunts, of course, and has most-notably dangled from the 80-metre San Siro stadium in Milan back in April, and later scaled the famous glass pyramid at the Louvre in Paris to take a selfie.
In the past, he has also grabbed headlines for scaling Arndale Food Court in Manchester city centre during a Black Lives Matter protest on 7 June 2020, and then just a few days later, he dangled from the edge of a 600ft balcony at the Madison Building in London’s Canary Wharf – with video footage of both instances uploaded to the internet.
Back in August 2020, Lockwood was handed a suspended sentence and narrowly avoided jail after breaching a Manchester City Council injunction, and “continuing to risk his life” by “dangerously scaling” tall buildings.
Greater Manchester cinemas to screen family-favourite films for just £2.50 this spring
Emily Sergeant
Greater Manchester cinemas will be screening family-favourite films, and some new releases, all throughout this upcoming spring holidays.
The best bit? Prices start from a massively-affordable £2.50 a ticket.
With Easter right around the corner, and schools across Greater Manchester set to be on their spring holidays in a couple of weeks time, parents and carers will likely be looking for ways to keep the kids entertained while schools are out.
But now it’s time to take care of those film lovers… and also those keen to plan budget-friendly events that also take into account the classic Manchester April showers.
Cinema chain Vue has announced its lineup of family blockbusters showing at venues across Greater Manchester this spring – including Printworks, Lowry, Bolton, Altrincham, and Bury.
Arriving in time for the school holidays, A Minecraft Movie welcomes fans to their favourite cubic wonderland, while the whole family can instead transport themselves into Disney’s reimagining of the 1937 classic Snow White if they’d prefer.
Also returning to the big screen are childhood classics like Wallace & Gromit: Curse of The Were-Rabbit, 20 years after its original release, and the beloved Babe, to celebrate the film’s 30th anniversary.
Greater Manchester cinemas will be screening family-favourite films for just £2.50 this spring / Credit: Disney | Aardman Animations
And as part of Vue’s ‘Mighty Mornings’ offering, film fans can enjoy pre-releases of family-friendly flicks like Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Moana 2 every day throughout half term, all from just £2.49 per ticket when booked online.
“A trip to Vue this Easter break is the perfect opportunity for families to immerse themselves in the magic of their favourite big screen characters,” commented Rob Lea, who is the Head of Screen Content at Vue UK & Ireland.
“More than just entertainment, it’s a chance for children and parents to switch off, connect, and create lasting memories together.”
Featured Image – Krists Luhaers (via Unsplash)
Trending
Pep Guardiola delivers gutting news as Man City are hit with Erling Haaland injury blow
Danny Jones
Pep Guardiola has passed on some gutting fitness news for Manchester City fans as star striker Erling Haaland is confirmed to be injured for several weeks and could even miss the rest of the Premier League season.
The title might be out of reach this year, and the Champions League knockout against Real Madrid was definitely hard for Blues to take, but with Man City into the semi-finals of the FA Cup, there’s still a very strong chance they could end 2024/25 with a piece of silverware.
However, they’ll have to make it through another two massive rounds at Wembley and seemingly the remainder of the season without Haaland and his goals, as the Catalan coach revealed that the club expects him to be out injured for “six to seven weeks.”
Not exactly how City fans would have wanted to see the rest of an already frustrating season play out.
🗣️ "We don't have another player with his skills."
Relaying diagnosis from the medical team, Pep said the hope is that the big Norwegian number nine could be back for the very tail end of the campaign, but at the very least, he “will be ready for the [FIFA Club] World Cup.”
He went on to add that “these kinds of things happen” and that he feels “sorry” for all of the other injuries that have befell his squad up till now, adding that they can only hope for a speedy recovery and for him to return as soon as possible.
The 24-year-old hasn’t had too many big injury problems in his career thus far, although his longest spell on the sidelines did come at the end of 2023 when a stress fracture kept him out until the new year.
This time around, Haaland suffered an injury to his ankle during the City’s FA Cup win over Bournemouth on Sunday following a challenge from defensive midfielder Lewis Cook.
He was forced in the second half and was seen leaving the Vitality Stadium on crutches after the game.
Erling Haaland seen leaving Bournemouth in a protective boot and crutches. 🤕
Having led the golden boot race for a good chunk of the season – as he’s become accustomed too since he arrived in England – City‘s sub-optimal season has seen him slink into second behind high-flying Mo Salah on 27, but he still has a couple dozen goals and a trio of assists to show for it.
Speaking of Salah, the soon-to-leave ‘Egyptian King’ has been the talisman for Liverpool this season, and his contributions could see them lift the trophy in Arne Slot’s first season as early as 13 April, depending on how fellow title rivals Arsenal fare in their next two matches.
As for how City round out their domestic campaign, reclaiming the FA Cup after last year’s derby disappointment looks like the main goal.
You can watch Pep Guardiola’s press conference ahead of the game against Leicester City at 19:45pm tomorrow (Wednesday, 2 April) in full HERE.