Alain Robert – Keynote Speaker

Biography

Alain Robert is the world's leading free climber and is known all over the as the ‘French Spiderman’ and the ‘Urban Climber’.

He is internationally renowned for having ascended over 100 skyscrapers without ropes. In 2011, he climbed Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the tallest building in the world. Robert uses his bold ascents, to raise funds for charity.

Prior to climbing skyscrapers, he was renowned for climbing the world's most extreme cliff faces solo. He has had seven serious accidents, including a fall where his rope came undone whilst rappelling. He spent 5 days in a coma and suffered multiple fractures: his cranium, nose, wrists, elbows, pelvis and heels. The prognosis was that he would never climb again and resulted in Alain developing vertigo.

Sector, (a sponsor specialising in extreme sports, adventure), offered to make a documentary of his climbing and suggested that he climb skyscrapers. So in 1994, Robert climbed his first skyscraper in Chicago and ‘The Urban Climber’ was born. He enjoyed climbing what seemed the impossible, and has continued to search for new skyscraper challenges, all over the world.

In 1997, he climbed without authorisation the world’s tallest skyscraper in Kuala Lumpur. The impact on the media was so great that Sabah Foundation asked him to climb its building in Borneo. With government authorisation, the event grew enormously, drawing a crowd of 15,000 people and raising over US$150,000.

Alain has climbed over 120 skyscrapers (80% without ropes) and mythical monuments around the world. One of his greatest successes was the ascent of the National Bank of Abu Dhabi with over 100,000 spectators.