Ringling Bros Circus to Close after 146 years

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It’s curtains for “The Greatest Show on Earth.” After 146 years of entertaining, Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus is shutting down. Ringling Bros. was founded in Wisconsin back in 1884 by five of the seven Ringling Brothers and the family ran the circus until 1967 when it was sold to Feld Entertainment. According to a press release Kenneth Feld, the circus company’s CEO, said shutting down the show has been a “difficult decision.”

However, trouble has been on the horizon for the circus industry. High operating costs and the decline of ticket sales “made the circus an unsustainable business for the company,” Feld said. Phasing out the beloved circus elephants also furthered it’s decline. For years, the elephants had been in the spotlight and their dance routines featured prominently in the shows, but due to mounting criticism from animal rights groups, the Ringling Bros. transitioned the elephant acts out of the show entirely. After “the transition of the elephants off the road, we saw an even more dramatic drop” in ticket sales, Feld said. Before taking the final bow, the Ringling Bros., will perform 30 shows across the United States between now and May.

And here in Columbia, “The Greatest Show on Earth” will be at the Life Colonial Arena starting January 26th running until January 29th. You can find ticket info about the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus HERE.