Daredevil to walk Niagara Falls on tightrope Canadian authorities gave Mr Wallenda permission to attempt the stunt this week following months of campaigning as they seek to revive the area's flagging popularity. He had secured support from the American side of the falls last September, when New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill giving him one year to carry out the feat. Canada's Niagara Parks Commission reversed an earlier decision and voted unanimously to allow the stunt subject to regulations. However, it also passed a motion saying such an attempt could only be allowed once every 20 years. Janice Thompson, commission chairwoman, said it would be a unique event. She said: "It's tightly controlled; we're saying it's 'once in a generation'. Why we're actually doing it is to pay tribute to the rich history, the long-ago history, of tightrope-walking and daredevils at Niagara Falls. Jean Francois Gravelet, known as Charles Blondin, was the first person to to make the tightrope walk in June 1859 and went on to complete it several times. However, his stunt was downstream from the actual waterfall. Mr Wallenda, a father of three from Florida, currently holds six Guinness World Records, including the longest distance and greatest height travelled by bicycle on a high wire.