The Ringling Circus is coming back but without the Lions, Tigers and Dumbos

Circus artists from all over the globe, attracted to this ring casting call, twisted, turned, whirled, performed, and stood on their heads (at one point while on another person's head) one by one in a huge screening room. In a room full of would-be ringmasters, morbid clowns, and more than one individual capable of hanging from a hoop dangling from the ceiling, there was one glaring missing.

There hasn't been a single animal act. Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus hauled up its metaphorical big top for good five years ago, ending a 146-year run in the wake of dwindling ticket sales and popular hatred for the lion, tiger, and elephant performances that were once associated with the circus.

However, the circus has secretly been analysing talent and preparing for a comeback in places like Las Vegas, Ethiopia, and Mongolia for the last year.


The firm said on Wednesday that it will make a comeback, with its debut show on Sept. 28, 2023, and a tour of more than 50 cities, but without any animals.

The circus is a part of the Feld entertainment programme, which also includes Disney on Ice and Monster Jam, which features gigantic trucks performing stunts. The corporation blames the demise of its circus on an antiquated business strategy, rather than animal rights activists' censure.

It transported trapeze equipment, motorbike cages, and a staff of 500 workers and 100 animals around the country in mile-long trains, an expensive endeavour in a period when video games and the metaverse compete for children's attention. Feld withdrew its elephant herd in 2016, when some jurisdictions, including New York and Illinois, began to move toward outlawing the use of elephants in travelling performances. After the closure in 2017, it sold the trains, including the purpose-built accommodations for the cast. In its latest iteration, performers will drive or fly from city to city, staying in hotels, a huge savings made possible by the fact that there is no longer a need to check in, say, a big cat.