The end of an era as legendary Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus take their final bow

Davis Vassallo, center, hugs a member of the trapeze troupe as he holds his daughter Adriana after the final show of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, Sunday, May 21, 2017, in Uniondale, N.Y. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus gave their final show just outside of New York on Sunday evening,ending  a 146  year circus fairytale.

At the end of a show which ran for over two hours  in Uniondale, outside of the North American metropolis, the Ring Master, Johnathan Lee Iverson, conducted the performers, employees and audience during an emotional rendition of “Auld Lang Syne”.

The audience sang with tears flowing freely, like rivers down their cheeks, while the daredevil performers in the ring hugged each other emotionally.
The company that owns Ringling Circus, Feld Entertainment, announced in January that the circus  would soon be consigned to the dustbin of myth, where it would join Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, and the original

Chief Inspector Ironside due to poor ticket sales and high operating costs.

Animal rights activists have criticised the circus, claiming that the animals were poorly treated, both  during performances and transport.

In May last year, the company removed elephants from their shows, but ticket sales continued to plummet, reaching rock bottom and digging down, until finally, Barnum  and Bailey’s famous line, ‘The show must go on’ was

lost amid the Clarion call of World of Warcraft, League of Legends and Grand Theft Auto. So the show didn’t go on, the show is over.

 

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today