Colonial Life Arena and Fans Make Thank You Message for Circus Performers

Circus' Last Day in the Midlands is Sunday

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO)- Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus say they will end ‘The Greatest Show on Earth’ forever in May, citing lower attendance numbers, high operating costs, and retiring those superstar elephants as reasons for ending the show. Circus performers are receiving an overflow of support from the Midlands thanks to the Colonial Life Arena.

“We knew there were a lot of memories so we put out a social media and email campaign to promote the communities to submit photos of their favorite memories,” said Colonial Life’s Director of Marketing Abey Foster.

The initiative got an overwhelming response. Over 500 fans from around the Midlands sent in pictures for the project. “We put that all together, did a big banner that says ‘Thank you for the Memories’ and that was actually put backstage so when the performers are going out backstage, they’ll have to pass it. It’s very large, you can’t miss it,” said Foster.

The banner also features historic pictures from over 47 years of the circus visiting Columbia. You have plenty of chances to see the circus this weekend if you are interested in catching it before it closes. Thursday’s performance is at 7pm. There will be a 10:30 a.m. and and a 7 p.m. performance Friday. Three performances are scheduled to take place on Saturday at 11 a.m., 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. and Sunday at 1:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at ticketmaster.com.