Urban climber George King scales 116-metre Barcelona hotel with no safety equipment


Tim Stickings
  • English
  • Arabic

A British free climber who scaled The Shard in London two years ago took his life into his own hands again on Friday when he reached the top of one of Europe's tallest skyscrapers in Barcelona.

George King made his way up the 116-metre Melia Barcelona Sky Hotel without any ropes or safety measures.

As he returned to the ground, he was arrested by the Mossos d'Esquadra, the Catalan regional police.

Mr King now faces a fine but said he had "felt in another dimension of bliss" when he was at the top of the building.

"When I met the police on the way down my head was still in the clouds," he told Reuters.

Crowds watched as Mr King scaled the Barcelona hotel in about 20 minutes.

The 21 year old climbed the 310-metre Shard in London in 2019, scaling the UK's highest tower without any safety apparatus.

The feat earned him six months in a young offenders' centre for breaching a civil injunction taken out by the owners of the building.

After his release from prison in January 2020, he said that he "would never let adversity extinguish my spirit".

  • George King climbs the Hotel Melia Barcelona Sky in Barcelona, Spain. Reuters
    George King climbs the Hotel Melia Barcelona Sky in Barcelona, Spain. Reuters
  • People stand to watch as George King climbs the Hotel Melia Barcelona Sky. Reuters
    People stand to watch as George King climbs the Hotel Melia Barcelona Sky. Reuters
  • The 21-year-old British free climber made his way to the top of the 116-metre (381 ft) tower. AFP
    The 21-year-old British free climber made his way to the top of the 116-metre (381 ft) tower. AFP
  • "When I was at the top I felt that I was in another dimension of bliss" said King. AFP
    "When I was at the top I felt that I was in another dimension of bliss" said King. AFP
  • King scaled the Barcelona hotel in about 20 minutes. AFP
    King scaled the Barcelona hotel in about 20 minutes. AFP
  • King climbed The Shard building in London in 2019, the highest tower in the United Kingdom, without any safety apparatus. Reuters
    King climbed The Shard building in London in 2019, the highest tower in the United Kingdom, without any safety apparatus. Reuters
  • As he was coming down, he was arrested by the Mossos d'Esquadra, the Catalan regional police and faces a fine. AFP
    As he was coming down, he was arrested by the Mossos d'Esquadra, the Catalan regional police and faces a fine. AFP

Since then, developers of a new London skyscraper project called Gotham City say that some of their sites have been targeted by urban explorers.

A High Court judge acknowledged last week that the £875 million ($1.20 billion) office and retail project was likely to be a “tempting challenge” for adventurers in London.

The judge agreed to a ban on any trespasser climbing higher than five metres at the site.

Mr King, who is from Oxford but and is travelling around Europe in a van, has also climbed the 144-metre Agbar Tower skyscraper in Barcelona.