Timeframe: When the ‘French Spider-Man’ climbed an Abu Dhabi skyscraper in front of 100,000

Free climber Alain Robert scaled 202 metres to the top of the National Bank building with his bare hands

Using only his bare hands and some chalk, Alain Robert scales the National Bank of Abu Dhabi headquarters in February 2003. Reuters

Alain Robert is nicknamed “the French Spider-Man” and with good reason.

The urban climber is known for scaling some of the world’s tallest buildings, doing so with little to no climbing equipment. He usually only does his free climbs with a small bag of chalk for his hands and a pair of climbing shoes.

In February 2003, he made his first stop in the UAE by climbing 202 metres to the top of the National Bank of Abu Dhabi on Khalifa Street. Around 100,000 spectators came to watch the event and it was shown live on TV. The turnout left an impression on him.

“Before climbing the NBAD building in 2003, I was being watched by about 10,000 people, but more than 100,000 showed up to watch me in Abu Dhabi,” Robert previously told The National.

He also described the scene as feeling “as gigantic and as big as the Rolling Stone concert” in a post on Instagram last year.

Alain Robert climbs the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority building in February 2007. AFP

However, this wouldn’t be Robert’s only experience in the country. Two years later, he also scaled 160 metres up the Etisalat building in front of 50,000 and returned in 2007 to climb 185 metres to the top of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority's headquarters.

Robert previously explained he caught the climbing bug aged 11 after he forgot the keys to the seven-storey building of his family’s apartment in Valence. It was his first climb.

He has also climbed Burj Khalifa's 828 metres and Cayan Tower, Dubai Marina's 307-metre twisting building, in 70 minutes.

These days he continues climbing, although not as much as he did when he was younger. Robert climbed Burj Khalifa for a second time, alongside urban free solo climber Alexis Landot, in 2023.