“We were absolutely stunned,” said Gifford, who watched from inside the building. “Just seeing the divers come off the roof that first time was, like, heart-stopping, and exhilarating all at the same time.”
This weekend, that stage returns. The Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series wraps up its five-month season in Boston, making its only US stop — and, for the first time, its season finale — at the ICA. The two-day event begins Friday morning, with the champions crowned Saturday.
If extreme cliff diving and a contemporary art museum sound like an unexpected pairing, Gifford argues the unusual match is the point.
“The ICA stands for innovation and people who are making bold choices and really pushing the limits of art,” she said. “I think that the alignment with Red Bull is parallel.”
Orlando Duque, a world champion of the sport turned sports director for the series, said the ICA’s dramatic architecture complements the divers’ acrobatics, creating images that feel as much like performance as sport.
“It could be like a nice balance of sport and art,” he said. “A lot goes into consideration when picking a location. The ICA was just perfect for that.”
The ICA was designed by award-winning architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro and projects over the Boston Harborwalk with a cantilever that hovers above the water and doubles as a launchpad for the world’s best divers. Its wide outdoor steps beneath it already serve as a public grandstand, and on diving weekends, they transform into stadium seating. The location blends the diving sport with spectacle in a way few other venues can.
The ICA has hosted the series 5 more times since 2011. Last year, the event drew crowds of over 40,000.
Duque said the people of Boston appreciate the competition.
“In some places, they might see it as a show. I get the feeling that here in Boston, as a city that appreciates sports, they can appreciate the competition side of the sport as well,” Duque said.
Amidst the chaos of the competition, from building to competing, the museum never closes – giving spectators a chance to duck inside to browse the galleries between dives, Gifford said.
“Probably a lot of the people that are coming down for the Red Bull cliff diving might not have ever been to the ICA or even known about it,” Gifford said. “It really is a great way to introduce people to this extraordinary building that’s on Boston Harbor.”
But is the harbor itself deep enough?
“Yes — under the right conditions,” Duque said. Safety starts with depth, and Boston’s event is deliberately scheduled around high tide; that’s why this year’s finale begins earlier in the day, timed to give divers maximum depth. Rescue crews in boats and wetsuits ring the marina as well.
Every location’s dive is different. But for these Red Bull cliff diving athletes, the unpredictability is the point. Diving from cliffs, rooftops, or opera houses forces them out of the repetition of pool routines.
“Every dive really becomes a challenge, a problem that I need to solve,” Duque said.
On Saturday, the professional athlete’s limits will be tested again — and for one weekend, Boston’s contemporary art museum will transform into part art gallery and part urban cliff. In Boston, the world’s best cliff divers leap from a museum roof; by design, the city catches them.