Plans have been made and I WILL be going to the 1st World High Wire Championship tomorrow in Seoul, even though it’s supposed to rain.  Ras and I will be going with three of the exchange students studying at our university.

Each acrobat must navigate the 1.2-inch-thick wire that spans the river, with the top prize of $15,000 going to the person crossing it fastest.

The contestants — 14 men and four women — include such masters of the high wire as Jade Kindar-Martin of Shelburne, Vt., a former Cirque du Soleil performer who once crossed London’s River Thames at a height of 150 feet, and Colombia’s Alan Martinez, who ambled across the Amazon.

They will face Adili Wuxiuer of China — the world record-holder for distance who walked on a wire nearly a half-mile across the Chongqing Cliff at a height of 2,250 feet in 2003.

Organizers in Seoul said stringing the wire across the Han made it the longest-ever such high wire, meaning anyone making it across will break the record for distance.  [AP News]

I can’t believe the winner only gets $15,000.

Go to this Korean site for more pictures and a few videos.  I don’t know what belly dancers have to do with tightrope walking, but you can see a video of them performing at the bottom of that page.