After 146 years of entertaining, The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus shut down in 2017. At the time, it was suspected that the sudden decline in ticket sales which led to the closure was due, in part, to a rise in animal rights protesting. The company had opted to remove elephants from its shows in 2016, but to no avail. Once popular for its stunning animal acts led by trainer Gunther Gebel-Williams who worked with lions and tigers, the circus was forced to close the doors.
With respect to the concerns of animal rights, however, it appears The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus will now attempt a comeback – without animals in the show, of course. During a recent panel discussion with venue operators, the Ellenton, Florida-based Feld Entertainment, the owners of the circus, announced a brand-new version of the show without animals will debut in 2023. The legendary “Greatest Show on Earth” is returning!
Feld Entertainment’s Chief Operating Officer Juliette Feld Grossman got choked-up as she revealed the news. “In 2023 we will be relaunching Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. You can see it’s emotional and exciting for us as a family. We really feel that Ringling Brothers has incredible relevance to today’s audience,” she said.
Organizers of the animal rights protests, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), have cheered the decision. “The exciting announcement sends a powerful message to the entire industry, something that PETA’s been saying for decades: Cruelty doesn’t belong in the circus or in any other form of entertainment,” it said in a statement.
With the popularity of the Canadian company Cirque du Soleil skyrocketing around the world, without the use of animals, it’s not unreasonable to see The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus make a phenomenal comeback. Human feats of acrobatic achievement are impressive enough for audiences to enjoy, especially when entertainment doesn’t have to come at the expense of an animal’s well-being. Look for the circus to come around in just a couple of years from now – they may have a few new and innovative ways to dazzle us as they have in the past!
See you on the trail,
Lisa
