Many people have memories of attending the Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus throughout their childhood. Now the well-known circus will come to an end after 146 years.
According to The New York Times, on Saturday the company made the official announcement through a statement on their official website.
The statement said that declining ticket sales is the leading factor as to why the circus will no longer be in business.
Ticket sales started to decline even more after they were pressured to remove the elephants from their shows last year. Activists targeted the circus after making it clear that forcing the animals to perform was a cruel and unnecessary act.
Kenneth Feld, the chief executive of Feld Entertainment and the producer of Ringling said, “This, coupled with high operating costs, made the circus an unsustainable business for the company. The circus and its people have continually been a source of inspiration and joy to my family and me.”
“We looked at the performance in 2016 and advance tickets sales in 2017, and we decided it was not a viable business model,” said Stephen Payne, a spokesman for Feld Entertainment.
The circus will perform a total of 30 shows between now and May, when the last two shows are scheduled to take place in Providence, R.I. and Uniondale, N.Y.
Payne also said that about 400 cast and crew members would be effected by the closing of the show.
Roommates what are your thoughts?
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/14/us/ringling-bros-and-barnum-bailey-circus-closing-may.html
TSR STAFF: Jade Ashley @Jade_Ashley94 on Instagram & Twitter
