On August 31, illusionist/magician David Blaine is coming back with a public stunt, and it’s taking place right over the Hudson River!

https://twitter.com/davidblaine/status/1293584068576043008

David Blaine is known for his extreme endurance stunts, including being entombed for 7 days, being sealed and suspended in a Plexiglas case for 44 days, and being submerged in a water-filled bubble for 7 days. After 10 years of planning, he’s finally back with a new public stunt – Ascension – where he will be holding balloons to float across the river.

“When I began this new project, I did lots of tests secretly in the middle of the night so nobody could see what I was working on,” Blaine explains in his behind-the-scenes video. In order to prepare for this stunt, Blaine has spent years skydiving, working with hot air balloons, and reading wind. He even tested the durability of the balloons to determine how he would land.

According to Blaine, Ascension is something he’s been working toward his entire career and is already his favorite stunt before he’s even done it. In his own words, “Ascension is the most ambitious performance of my life.”

You can watch the stunt live on YouTube on August 31st. The stream begins at 6AM.

Get a glimpse of the work behind the stunt and his years of preparation on YouTube (with a longer video available to YouTube Premium members).