Alex Honnold live updates: Netflix’s Skyscraper Live delayed by 24 hours due to safety concerns

If you’re tuning in to Netflix hoping to watch Skyscraper Live, we’re afraid the event has been postponed until the same time tomorrow.

The conditions in Taipei this morning were simply too wet and overcast for the event to go ahead.

A January date had been chosen for the climb as it is currently dry season in Taiwan.

And as of now, the forecast looks better for 24 hours time. According to AccuWeather, tomorrow will be “partly sunny and pleasant”.

In a statement posted to their official X account, Netflix wrote: “Due to weather, we are unable to proceed with today’s #SkyscraperLIVE event.

“It has been rescheduled for Saturday, January 24 at 8 PM ET | 5 PM PT.

“Safety remains our top priority, and we appreciate your understanding.”

Reports are now emerging from Taipei that Honnold’s climb has been postponed until tomorrow.

CNN’s Brian Stelter wrote on X: “Change of plans: Netflix's ‘Skyscraper Live’ has been postponed for 24 hours. It's a very wet, rainy day in Taipei, per CNN's team on the ground there. The event will now be attempted Sunday 9am local time/Saturday 8pm US ET.”

Fans on Netflix have also noted that the app itself now lists Skyscraper Live as being “Live tomorrow.”

The Independent has contacted Netflix for a statement.

Since he arrived in Taiwan earlier this week, Honnold has been aware of the wet weather conditions that could delay his climb.

On Tuesday, he posted on X: “Rest day stroll in rain - very scenic views of Taipei though a little bit wet right now. Getting over my jet lag and feeling pretty good. Getting psyched!”

With Netflix’s Skyscaper Live now just a little over an hour away, reports from Taipei confirm that it did rain earlier this morning.

It’s just before 8am local time, and the skies above Taipei 101 look distinctly overcast,

As we reported earlier, James Smith of production company Plimsoll Productions has told Variety that the show could be postponed - either by hours or by a full day - if the building is too wet to climb.

“Our main contingency planning is we can delay the broadcast by maybe an hour, maybe slightly longer,” said Smith.

“If there’s been a light shower and the building’s drying off, the temperature here is pretty good, there’s often a light breeze, so the building will dry relatively quickly.

“If it is deemed too wet, if there’s too much moisture on the building, we will probably delay to the next day, which would be a Saturday night transmission in the U.S. We could even delay another day if we needed to.

“Obviously Alex has to be 100% comfortable and happy in himself and in the conditions. And then our safety team likewise have to.”

The Independent has approached Netflix for an update.

In one memorable scene in Free Solo, Honnold is given an MRI scan and learns that there is little activity in his amygdala in response to intense stimuli - suggesting he would require more stimuli than usual in order to feel fear.

That chimes with research done by Ken Carter, a clinical psychologist and professor at Emory University, who studies the psychology of thrill-seekers.

He found that their brains don’t tend to produce much cortisol, a chemical involved in the fight or flight response.

Instead, their brains produce dopamine, a pleasurable sensation.

“They’re in a nice area for them where they can focus and concentrate,” Carter told the Wall Street Journal.

The 2018 documentary Free Solo followed Honnold as he became the first person to ever free solo climb a route on El Capitan, in California’s Yosemite National Park.

Here’s the trailer for the nail-biting, Oscar-winning film:

Not everyone is impressed by Honnold’s plans to climb Taipei 101.

Dan Goodwin climbed Toronto’s CN Tower in 1986 as a free solo without any prior planning or preparation.

Now 70, he told the Wall Street Journal that Honnold’s Netflix live event is “a well-rehearsed, choreographed film production and nothing more.”

He also argued that it is ignoble that Honnold will ride an elevator back down after climbing, rather than rappelling down the building as he did on the CN Tower.

He added that Taipei 101 would be comparatively easy to climb, saying: “I could climb that building, and if I was going to climb that building, I would probably have upped the ante. I probably would have blindfolded myself.”

Honnold will be hoping conditions remain dry on Saturday morning in Taipei.

James Smith of production company Plimsoll Productions told Variety that the show could be postponed if the building is too wet to climb.

“Our main contingency planning is we can delay the broadcast by maybe an hour, maybe slightly longer,” said Smith.

“If there’s been a light shower and the building’s drying off, the temperature here is pretty good, there’s often a light breeze, so the building will dry relatively quickly.

“If it is deemed too wet, if there’s too much moisture on the building, we will probably delay to the next day, which would be a Saturday night transmission in the U.S. We could even delay another day if we needed to.

“Obviously Alex has to be 100% comfortable and happy in himself and in the conditions. And then our safety team likewise have to.”

There has been significant debate over how Netflix will react should the worst happen during Honnold’s attempt to scale Taipei 101.

Netflix unscripted series VP Jeff Gaspin told Variety: “It’s obviously a conversation that everybody has.”

He added: “You can imagine what we’ll do. It’s nothing momentous. We’ll cut away. We have a 10-second delay. Nobody expects or wants to see anything like that to happen. But we will cut away, and it’s as simple as that.”