After 146 years, the longest-running circus show in the world, owned by Feld Entertainment, will finally shut down forever in May. "The Greatest Show on Earth", under Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, has been an iconic American spectacle with their circus shows that started off in the mid-1800s.
Their last touring season will consist of 30 shows until May. Atlanta, Washington, Philadelphia, Boston and Brooklyn are among the places they will perform their last shows, with their last stops in Providence, Rhode Island, on May 7 and in Uniondale, New York, at the Nassau County Coliseum on May 21.
High operation costs, expensive legal battles with animal rights groups, and the decreasing sales of their tickets are among the top reasons why the circus shows have to close, according to the company. Short attention spans and interest in modern technology are also the main competitors of the show. Apparently, kids nowadays are not that excited to watch acrobatic stunts and performances of exotic animals.
Kenneth Feld, chairman and CEO of Feld Entertainment, said in a statement: "The competitor in many ways is time. It's a different model that we can't see how it works in today's world to justify and maintain an affordable ticket price. So you've got all these things working against it."
Because of the impending redundancy of the show, almost 500 of the circus employees will be out of a job by May. But according to the company, they will retain some of their employees to work on their other shows such as Monster Jam, Disney on Ice and Marvel Live, the rest they will offer as much assistance as they can to help with their transition process.
It's an end of an era, according to the company. Feld Entertainment announced the news to their employees last Saturday night after they performed in Orlando and Miami.
Fans will be able to say goodbye to show in the coming four months. In their company website, Feld said: "Without Ringling Bros., we wouldn't have the vibrant live entertainment company that we have today. Ringling Bros. will always be part of Feld Entertainment, and its spirit will live on in every production and project we do."
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
