After 146 years, the curtain is coming down on “The Greatest Show on Earth.” The owner of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus told The Associated Press that the show will close forever in May.
The iconic American spectacle was felled by a variety of factors, company executives say. Declining attendance combined with high operating costs, along with changing public tastes and prolonged battles with animal rights groups all contributed to its demise.
“There isn’t any one thing,” said Kenneth Feld, chairman and CEO of Feld Entertainment. “This has been a very difficult decision for me and for the entire family.”
The company broke the news to circus employees Saturday night after shows in Orlando and Miami.
Ringling Bros. has two touring circuses this season and will perform 30 shows between now and May. Major stops include Atlanta, Washington, Philadelphia, Boston and Brooklyn. The final shows will be in Providence, Rhode Island, on May 7 and in Uniondale, New York, at the Nassau County Coliseum on May 21.
The circus, with its exotic animals, flashy costumes and death-defying acrobats, has been a staple of entertainment in the United States since the mid-1800s. Phineas Taylor Barnum made a traveling spectacle of animals and human oddities popular, while the five Ringling brothers performed juggling acts and skits from their home base in Wisconsin. Eventually, they merged and the modern circus was born. The sprawling troupes traveled around America by train, wowing audiences with the sheer scale of entertainment and exotic animals.
By midcentury, the circus was routine, wholesome family entertainment. But as the 20th century went on, kids became less and less enthralled. Movies, television, video games and the internet captured young minds. The circus didn’t have savvy product merchandising tie-ins or Saturday morning cartoons to shore up its image.
“The competitor in many ways is time,” said Feld, adding that transporting the show by rail and other circus quirks — such as providing a traveling school for performers’ children— are throwbacks to another era. “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.”
The Feld family bought the Ringling circus in 1967. The show was just under 3 hours then. Today, the show is 2 hours and 7 minutes, with the longest segment — a tiger act — clocking in at 12 minutes.
“Try getting a 3- or 4-year-old today to sit for 12 minutes,” he said.
Feld and his daughter Juliette Feld, who is the company’s chief operating officer, acknowledged another reality that led to the closing, and it was the one thing that initially drew millions to the show: the animals. Ringling has been targeted by activists who say forcing animals to perform is cruel and unnecessary.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, a longtime opponent of the circus, wasted no time in claiming victory.
“After 36 years of PETA protests, which have awoken the world to the plight of animals in captivity, PETA heralds the end of what has been the saddest show on earth for wild animals, and asks all other animal circuses to follow suit, as this is a sign of changing times,” Ingrid Newkirk, president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, wrote in a statement.
Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States, acknowledged the move was “bittersweet” for the Felds but said: “I applaud their decision to move away from an institution grounded on inherently inhumane wild animal acts.”
In May of 2016, after a long and costly legal battle, the company removed the elephants from the shows and sent the animals to live on a conservation farm in Central Florida. The animals had been the symbol of the circus since Barnum brought an Asian elephant named Jumbo to America in 1882. In 2014, Feld Entertainment won $25.2 million in settlements from groups including the Humane Society of the United States, ending a 14-year fight over allegations that circus employees mistreated elephants.
By the time the elephants were removed, public opinion had shifted somewhat. Los Angeles prohibited the use of bull-hooks by elephant trainers and handlers, as did Oakland, California. The city of Asheville, North Carolina nixed wild or exotic animals from performing in the municipally owned, 7,600-seat U.S. Cellular Center.
Attendance has been dropping for 10 years, said Juliette Feld, but when the elephants left, there was a “dramatic drop” in ticket sales. Paradoxically, while many said they didn’t want big animals to perform in circuses, many others refused to attend a circus without them.
“We know now that one of the major reasons people came to Ringling Bros. was getting to see elephants,” she said. “We stand by that decision. We know it was the right decision. This was what audiences wanted to see and it definitely played a major role.”
The Felds say their existing animals — lions, tigers, camels, donkeys, alpacas, kangaroos and llamas — will go to suitable homes. Juliette Feld says the company will continue operating the Center for Elephant Conservation.
Some 500 people perform and work on both touring shows. A handful will be placed in positions with the company’s other, profitable shows — it owns Monster Jam, Disney on Ice and Marvel Live, among other things — but most will be out of a job. Juliette Feld said the company will help employees with job placement and resumes. In some cases where a circus employee lives on the tour rail car (the circus travels by train), the company will also help with housing relocation.
Kenneth Feld became visibly emotional while discussing the decision with a reporter. He said over the next four months, fans will be able to say goodbye at the remaining shows.
In recent years, Ringling Bros. tried to remain relevant, hiring its first African American ringmaster, then its first female ringmaster, and also launching an interactive app. It added elements from its other, popular shows, such as motorbike daredevils and ice skaters. But it seemingly was no match for Pokemon Go and a generation of kids who desire familiar brands and YouTube celebrities.
“We tried all these different things to see what would work, and supported it with a lot of funding as well, and we weren’t successful in finding the solution,” said Kenneth Feld.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
Rosech says
Yep, Barnum was right as there is a fool born every minute and those are ones causing the Greatest Circus on Earth to close down because they said the animals were treated cruelly. No they were not! But freed animals are treated badly and die quickly from boredom, illnesses, loneliness, etc. It was so much fun to go the the Circus when I was growing up and a dream for most children, especially those of us in the poorer section of the city. The great performances and the timed actions of animal and riders was thrilling. Now all we see is nothing thrilling but a lot of porn, electrospam from electronic devices, horrible and pathetic movies with fewer and fewer moral values, etc. This Great Circus will be missed!
D. Smith says
I agree totally.
Susan Bannon says
My daughter always enjoyed this circus. She got to pick 1 item to purchase besides a drink. It was always the book about the circus. She would “read” it for months, even the years she was too young to read. It was a glorious time and it will hold wonderful memories for us forever!!!
Susan Bannon says
My daughter always enjoyed this circus. She got to pick 1 item to purchase besides a drink. It was always the book about the circus. She would “read” it for months, even the years she was too young to read. It was a glorious time and it will hold wonderful memories for us forever!!!
Fred Freud says
I always found the charge that animals were widely mistreated to be questionable. Logically, who would mistreat valuable property? I think the lawsuits by animal rights groups was more about enriching their own pockets and sheer liberal kookiness. So sad to see the circus disappear. I’ve attended throughout my life and my wife & I took our children.
Jack Frost says
Very sad. People who know nothing about animals are a big part of the demise of elephant shows and attractions. Elephants will likely become extinct because they have lost all value. Who is going to sink money into keeping them alive if there is little or no value in having them on earth?
In addition the very special kind of people who are performer’s will loose. Their loss is ours.
Sad.
Jack Frost says
Very sad. People who know nothing about animals are a big part of the demise of elephant shows and attractions. Elephants will likely become extinct because they have lost all value. Who is going to sink money into keeping them alive if there is little or no value in having them on earth?
In addition the very special kind of people who are performer’s will loose. Their loss is ours.
Sad.
Willavine J Abbott says
My late husband, and our grandchildren attended the performance of The Greatest Show on Earth several times. It is disheartening to hear that they are going to close The Circus in 5 months. Where can I find a schedule of where they we will be performing? Before June, 2017.
Justin W says
It’s sad to hear the end of the circus. The circus did a lot to help people see and develop a love for animals. While PETA may celebrate this announcement, I’m not sure it will help animals in the long run. Then again, PETA doesn’t really care much for animals long term condition.
John Shannon says
I loved the circus and took my first family to them. Not to celebrate caged animals or animals trained to perform, but for the sheer spectacle and being up close to exotic, beautiful and smart animals. I hate that PETA and others want to tell me what to like. I don’t tell them to go to the circus, Sea World or the zoo. But they want to tell me not too! Don’t go and encourage all your friends not to go but stop being so high and mighty as to tell people not to go when we and our family love to go and celebrate these wonderful creatures. We support the animals, acts, performers and thousands of behind the scenes workers necessary to put on such a spectacle as a 3 ring circus. Cruelty to animals was junk news at it’s highest. Ringling Bros won $Millions from accusers who alledged cruelty but had no proof. Trainers are not cruel to animals they want to perform in public, and if any were they should be dealt with swiftly and severely. This is the end of an era of great showmanship. A sad day for all children who will see such animals only in books.
twykes says
I worked the barnum circus every year
It came to town..it was exciting…the
Colors the people the music and
Especially the elepants above all else .
I’m sad the next generation won’t
Experience the joy and excitement of
The circus. What a blast..what a loss
sarah says
Yea it was so exciting to see elephants chained up at their home for for 22 hrs a day. Hit with bullwhips not fed right or anything else. .They were not unchained even to have babies. If you don’t believe it look on usda website for all the citations. And yes the elephants will go to sanctuary where they can actually walk and not be beaten and there feet taken care of and be with other elephants. Im tickled to death they are shutting down . Yea Look up with they went to hawaii and one of there elephants got loose because she was so badly taken of and was SHOT DEAD IN MIDDLE OF TOWN AND THEN SUFFERED FOR HRS AND THEN DUMPED IN TRASH DUMP OUTSIDE OF TOWN. You people shut your eyes and see nothing just having fun at circus bur for the animals it was a life they should not have to live. I am not a rights activist but I know that these animals live a horrible life and yes I knew one of the people that kept them when they wasn’t going on the road and its true abuse and neglect even the decency to be unchained to have their babies. She said she feels bad know but not back then she used bull hooks and was mean to them.