Criss Angel to do live 'Mindfreak' July 30 on Clearwater Beach

CLEARWATER -- It's official: Illusionist Criss Angel will try to escape from a Clearwater Beach hotel about to be blown up for a live broadcast of his Mindfreak cable television show at 10 p.m. July 30.

The cable television network A&E announced the decision today. The Times reported on July 11 that Angel and A&E were in discussions with Clearwater officials to stage the stunt at the old Spyglass Resort, known for its 100-foot-tall mural of a hot-air balloon.

The one-hour episode will be the first time the show has been broadcast live, according to A&E.

In a statement, Angel, 40, promised that the escape would “blow your mind and be above and beyond anything you have ever seen me attempt.”

For the escape, he is to be shackled to a seventh-floor balcony in the nine-story hotel, which is now vacant, and will have to free himself and make it to a hovering helicopter before the building is imploded.

No tickets will be sold, and the event is open to the public, A&E said. But all spectators will have to watch the escape from a distance. There will be a 9- by 12-foot screen mounted for spectators with a feed of the live show.

The implosion will be handled by Advanced Explosives Demolition Inc. of Idaho and Cross Construction Services of Tampa. Plans call for more than 100 kilograms -- or more than 220 pounds -- of explosives to be placed on three floors of the building to reduce the structure to 3,000-plus tons of debris. Once the explosives are detonated, they will create a vacuum inside the building that is expected to cause the Spyglass to implode.

The site is expected to be redeveloped with a new hotel.

Mike Donila, Times staff writer

[AP Photo]