You must have visited the UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the World’s Seven Wonders, the Taj Mahal umpteen times. But have you ever seen people jump over it and paint the sky above the historic monument in the colours of the Indian Flag? Well, we did! And we are bringing a slice of the experience to you.
Red Bull’s Taj Mahal Fly-by Project
We visited Agra to witness one of Red Bull’s most extraordinary events! On October 11 and 12, 2022, we watched the team of SoulFlyers take off from the Taj Mahal and take to the skies! Called the Taj Mahal Fly-by Project, wingsuit-clad Red Bull Athlete Frederic Fugen along with International Athletes Vincent Cotte and Aurélien Chatard jumped off a Cessna 172 airplane flying 5000 feet above.
They flew by Taj at around 510m at a speed of 150 kmph. They took off 2 km away from Taj Mahal and landed at Gyarah Sidi (Eleven steps) which lies on the banks of River Yamuna.
As a tribute to India’s Azadi ka Amrut Mahotsav, they painted the skies in orange, white and green (our tri-colour) colours.
Six-time world champions Frederic and Vincent have performed 30,000 jumps all over the world. But why did they choose Taj Mahal as a location? Fedrick says, “Well, Taj Mahal is one of the wonders of the world, and it’s just amazing for us to be able to fly our wingsuit around there, to practice and showcase our sport above and around such a beautiful landscape. So, it’s been a very, very huge opportunity to be able to do it.”
Also Read: Taj Mahal Ranks As The Highest Revenue-Generating Monument In India
He also thanked everyone and added, “We would like to thank everybody, all the people who helped us to make it happen, and of course, the team from Red Bull India because it’s been a great collaboration and a lot of work to make this dream come true.”
The Crowd Was Mesmerised
The sight was mesmerising and thousands of folks thronged around the Taj Mahal to witness this monumental, never-been-done-before event! This was the first time an event like this happened in India. Well, Red Bull certainly gives you wings and the SoulFlyers were ecstatic to fly over the beautiful city of Agra.
Here, watch the video and e-witness the magical event!
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Special thanks to
-The Government of Uttar Pradesh,
-The District Magistrate of Agra,
-Ministry of Culture, Government of India
-Archaeological Survey of India,
-Director General of Civil Aviation, Government of India
-Agra Tourism, Government of Uttar Pradesh
-Agra Police and
-Agra Development Authority (ADA)