The best views over the city can be found at the top of London’s tallest building, Shard. There’s a conventional way to get to the top via elevator and then there’s the unconventional one. A 19-year-old free climber was spotted scaling the building at about 6:15 am and the police were called to the site.
“Emergency services attended and the man went inside the building where he was spoken to by officers,” the London police department tweeted. “He was not arrested.”
Police were called at 05:15hrs on Monday, 8 July following reports of a ‘free-climber’ on the Shard. Emergency services attended and the man went inside the building where he was spoken to by officers. He was not arrested.
— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) July 8, 2019
However, commenting on the dangerous climb the company that operates The Shard, Real Estate Management, said in a statement: “Fortunately no-one was hurt by this dangerous activity and we are in dialogue about this matter with the Metropolitan Police and the other relevant authorities. We will always push for a prosecution if it is clear that any law has been broken to maintain the ongoing safety of the area.”
Twitter users were left captivated by teenager George King’s nerveracking climb up the tower.
BREAKING: A man has been spotted climbing to the top of London's Shard this morning. Police say he is now inside and talking to officers. pic.twitter.com/N48TeXvCHV
— talkRADIO (@talkRADIO) July 8, 2019
Today at The Shard pic.twitter.com/kGSdhwTFhN
— DW (@Drewwagbs99) July 8, 2019
Someone is climbing up The Shard!!! pic.twitter.com/4yWG0CZ6Rt
— David Kevin Williams (@DaveKWilliams) July 8, 2019
King later posted on his Instagram account and said that he first saw the building on a school trip when he was thirteen and made it his mission in life to climb it.
“I felt an immediate passion to climb it – the same type of passion I want to the world to feel.”
“It takes years of training and careful preparation to be where I am today, and this practice is achievable only because I see myself as someone who has followed a respectable passion, albeit an unusual one. I believe that every single one of us has a gift. Your mission is to find that gift, make it your passion, and then make it your purpose,” he said.
The Shard stands at about 1,016 ft and has seen many climbers scale its walls before. In 2016, a Base jumper leapt from the Shard and ran away unhurt.
While the Shard is the tallest burilding in the UK, it’s less than half the height of Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building at an impressive 2716.5 ft or 828 metres.
