Nik Wallenda is a 33-year-old, who comes from a long line of circus performers. Wallenda has been walking on a tightrope since the age of two and has dreamt of walking across the Niagara Falls since he was six years old. His great-grandfather Karl founded the Flying Wallendas, the family’s daredevil circus act. However, Karl fell to his death at the age of 73 from a tightrope in Puerto Rico in 1978. Nik Wallenda will now be the first person in a century to tightrope walk over the iconic Niagara Falls without a safety net.

Niagara Falls is located on the Niagara River draining Lake Erie into Lake Ontario. It is the collective name for the Horseshoe Falls and the adjacent American Falls along with the comparatively small Bridal Veil Falls, which combined form the highest flow rate of any waterfall in the world and has a vertical drop of more than 165 feet (50 m). Horseshoe Falls is the most powerful waterfall (vertical height along with flow rate) in North America.

Niagara Falls forms the international border between the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of New York, also forming the southern end of the Niagara Gorge. The falls are located 17 miles (27 km) north-northwest of Buffalo, New York and 75 miles (121 km) south-southeast of Toronto, between the twin cities of Niagara Falls, Ontario, and Niagara Falls, New York.

Stunts over the iconic attraction, which forms the international border between the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of New York, have been prohibited for more than 100 years. Last September, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill giving him one year to perform the dangerous feat of walking over the Niagara Falls. After months of campaigning, Mr. Wallenda was yesterday given permission by the Canadian officials to attempt the death-defying stunt this summer. After giving permission to Mr. Wallenda to perform the stunt, the Niagara Parks Commission insisted that it could only be attempted once in every 20 years.

The stunt will require Wallenda to walk 1,800 feet across the Falls on a 2 inch think rope, at a height of 220feet above the bottom of the gorge. The walk will take approximately 40 minutes through the mist and spray.

Nik Wallenda lives with his wife Erenda and their three children is thrilled after getting the permission. When he was informed of the good news, he said, “It’s been a dream of mine since I was six years old. I haven’t had a chance for it to settle in yet. I’m thrilled to death…This was a dream many told me was impossible. I’m blessed, that’s all I can say.”

This is the first time anyone is attempting to walk on a tightrope over the actual waterfall. In 1859 the French acrobat Charles Blondin crossed a section of the Niagara Falls. He was the first person to cross it. But his walk was downstream from the actual waterfall.

This is not the first time Wallenda is walking on a tightrope from perilous heights. In 2008 he walked and then cycled back across a high-wire suspended from 12 storey high skyscrapers in Hewark, New Jersey. The particular feat won him a place in the Guinness Book Of Records for the longest and highest bicycle ride on a high-wire. Currently Wallenda holds six Guinness World Records.

Despite the fact that the stunt can cost him his life, Wallenda is determined to not only manage to survive but to successfully complete the stunt. “My family has always been taught to never give up. We’ve gone through it all, triumph and tragedy. So at no point did I think I would throw in the towel.”

Mr. Wallenda will wear suede shoes designed to grip the wire in the wet and will train on a full-scale high-wire rig on an airport runway in Pittsburgh, with simulated mist. “I’ll be walking through the mist thrown off by the falls…I’ve done walks further and higher. This will be the most iconic.”

Yesterday Janice Thomson, chairman of the Niagara Parks Commission, said, “This decision was approved in part in recognition of the role that stunting has played in the history and promotion of Niagara Falls…We have made it clear that this is a very unique one-time situation. It’s not an everyday activity and will not be allowed to become an everyday activity.”

The area around the falls has suffered from a decline in industry and struggles to attract visitors despite its world famous centerpiece featuring in films such as Superman II and 1953’s Niagara, starring Marilyn Monroe.

(PHOTOS): Home Instead – Franchise Opportunities, Falls Direct, Daily Mail