The daring meets the dateable as The Bachelor star Chris Harrison has been signed on to host daredevil Nik Wallenda as he walks a volcano in Volcano Live! With Nik Wallenda on ABC.
Harrison and ESPN star Sage Steele were both inked to add expertise and commentary to this live event.
Wallenda, a career highwire artist/legacy performer, challenges mother nature and his own fears to cross a live volcano while cameras are rolling.
When and where is the Volcano Live! With Nik Wallenda event happening?
Harrison and Steele will broadcast the event with the network on Wednesday, March 4.
This two-hour live event will showcase the lead-up, training, and past accomplished feats of Wallenda, who has crossed many insane gorges, and even the spans between skyscrapers.
ABC and Dick Clark productions selected Chris Harrison, host of ABC’s hit The Bachelor franchise to step in and serve as host for the Volcano Live! with Nik Wallenda event, with ESPN anchor Sage Steele serving as co-host.
The pair will go live from the selected location of the Masaya Volcano in Nicaragua.
Who are Chris Harrison and Sage Steele?
Fans instantly recognize Harrison as the host of ABC’s hit romance/reality franchise The Bachelor and The Bachelorette.
He has also hosted all of the spinoffs, and in 2015, he took on hosting the nationally syndicated game show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, for which he earned Emmy nominations as Best Game Show Host in 2018 and 2019.
Hosting is his oyster, as he also hosted the Emmys Red Carpet Live and the American Music Awards Red Carpet. Harrison is a Dallas native who now lives in California with his two children.
ESPN star Sage Steele is the co-anchor for ESPN’s flagship weekday show, SportsCenter. Steele is also the lead host for SportsCenter on the Road covering the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the World Series, the Masters, the College Football National Championship and many more.
A 1995 graduate of Indiana University, Steele even co-hosted the Miss America competition on ABC in 2016 and 2017, the Scripps National Spelling Bee from 2010-2013, and ESPN’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve during the inaugural College Football Playoff.
Steele lives in Connecticut with her three teenage children.
“Nik Wallenda and his family are legendary. I’m extremely honored and also a little nervous to watch this death-defying walk over a live volcano,” said Harrison in a press statement. “I’m proud to bring this live event to the world along with my friend and co-host Sage Steele.”
“I have been a fan of Nik Wallenda for years and am beyond thrilled to be part of his next feat,” said Steele in the same press release. “I am counting down the days to ‘Volcano Live!’ and am so excited to be reunited with my good friend Chris Harrison for what I know will be an unforgettable night for the world to see!”
Who is Nik Wallenda?
Wallenda is a legacy daredevil highwire artist from a long line of Wallendas who have entertained for many many years.
Nik Wallenda was born in Sarasota, Florida, in 1979 and is 41 years old. His older sister Lijana Adina Martha Wallenda performs with him, recently crossing Times Square with him, although she is not part of the Volcano Live! event.
The family — known as The Flying Wallendas — have been walking on high line wires and performing daredevil stunts for years, oftentimes without any safety gear.
In 1978, Nik and Lijana’s great grandfather Karl Wallenda fell to his death at age 73 while performing a high wire tight rope stunt in Puerto Rico.
Nik becomes the first person to embark on a 1,800-foot-long highwire walk over the famed volcano. This will mark Nik’s longest and highest high wire walk ever attempted.
Volcano Live! with Nik Wallenda will air as a live two-hour televised event on Wednesday, March 4 (8:00-10:00 p.m. EST) on ABC.