Its The End Of 'The Greatest Show On Earth': 146 Years Old Ringling Bros. Circus To Shut Down

From ancient times, people have tried various ways to keep themselves entertained. Something that breaks the daily routine and refreshes the mind. Thrilling acts involving both human and animals along with a generous dose of humor and daredevilry, drove people to circus in huge numbers but today the same seats remain unoccupied and tickets unsold. In modern times, its largely a dying art and Ringling Bros. the biggest Circus of its times has finally decided to call it quits.

According to Forbes, the 146 year old Circus has officially announced its closure on a permanent basis in the month of May 2017. The century old circus has been owned by billionaire Kenneth Feld's family since 1967 and it was advertised as the "Greatest show on earth". The official reason cited for its closure is the reduction in ticket sales after the release of its epochal elephants that were the stars of the show.

The Circus administration had been in a tough legal tussle with the animal rights activists for 14 long years regarding the use of the elephants. In a statement Kenneth Feld announced that the leaving of the elephants paired with high cost of operations has led to the decision.

In May 2016, after the elephants were removed from the circus Kenneth's daughter Alana Feld produced a show that substituted the elephants with ice, a new storyline and special usage of lights. In an interview given to Forbes in August, Alana Feld said, "We're the greatest show on earth and if we're going to say that, we've got to live up to it and we always have to top ourselves."

Kenneth Feld had taken charge of the circus after the death of his father Irvin Feld in 1984, who had bought the circus from John Ringling North in 1967 for $8 million. Feld has been building an entertainment empire around the Ringling Bros. Circus though according to Forbes only 15% of Feld's $1.3 Billion entertainment revenue came from the circus.

As per Fox News, Animal Rights Group PETA is the prime cause of this decision. PETA President Ingrid Newkirk has said in a statement that repeated protests against the unfair activities have "awoken the world to the plight of animals in captivity." It turned the circus's slogan of "The Greatest Show on Earth" into "the saddest show on earth" and used it on posters and fliers while protesting against Ringling Bros. Circus.

As per reports, the other productions of the Feld Entertainment including Marvel Universe LIVE!, Monster Jam, Monster Energy Supercross, AMSOIL Arenacross, Disney On Ice and Disney Live! will continue their operations after the curtains come down on the Ringling Bros. Circus on May 7, 2017.

The Ringling Bros. Circus was started with a view to entertain people and it has been successfully doing that under the management of Feld family for more than a century. The closure of "The Greatest Show on Earth" is definitely end of an era.

TagsCircus, Ringling Bros, the greatest show on earth, Barnum & Bailey, America