Celebrate World Sword Swallower’s Day at Ripley’s Believe It or Not

Ripley’s Believe It or Not will once again pay tribute to the ancient art of sword swallowing by holding free sword swallowing performances as part of World Sword Swallower’s Day on Feb. 28.

Ripley’s will showcase sword swallowers from all over the world at its Odditoriums in New York City, Hollywood, San Francisco, Baltimore, Gatlinburg, Myrtle Beach, Branson, Atlantic City, Orlando, St. Augustine, Panama City Beach, Key West and Grand Prairie.

In Orlando, attendees will see the following three performers:
• Dan Meyer, World Sword Swallower’s Day founder and America’s Got Talent finalist, will attempt several death-defying feats. Meyer has swallowed as many as 21 swords at one time.
• Franz Huber, who is coming all the way from Germany to participate.
• Haley Hall, who at just 16 years old may be the youngest sword swallower in the world.

The show will start at 1:30 p.m. with an official swallow at 2:28:15 p.m. to coincide with the 2/28/15 date. The sword swallowing performances will be free, but admission is required to tour the Odditorium.

This will be the 8th annual World Sword Swallower’s Day celebration, founded by the Sword Swallowers Association International (SSAI) and co-sponsored by Ripley’s Believe It or Not. “We established World Sword Swallower’s Day to recognize the handful of people in the world who can do this and honor this art that is more than 4,000 years old,” said Dan Meyer, president of the SSAI.

The event also raises awareness of the contributions sword swallowers have made to the fields of medicine and science and raises money for esophageal cancer research.

Ripley’s Believe It or Not has long chronicled the death-defying achievements of sword swallowers. Sword swallowers were a prominently featured at the very first Ripley’s Believe It or Not Odditorium at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1933.

See our coverage of the 2013 event in the episode of Orlando Attractions Magazine: The Show below: