Cirque du Soleil – OVO

A fire-breather with a government grant and zero animals built the most recognisable big top on earth.

Guy Laliberté, a former fire-breather and accordion player, co-founded Cirque du Soleil with Gilles Ste-Croix on 16 June 1984. The company grew out of Le Club des Talons Hauts, a street performance troupe based in Baie-Saint-Paul, Quebec. Their first production, 'Le Grand Tour', was staged as part of the 450th anniversary celebrations of Jacques Cartier's arrival in Canada, funded by a Quebec government grant. The name, meaning 'Circus of the Sun', was chosen by Laliberté because, as he later explained, the sun symbolised youth, energy, and radiant force. From the start, there were no animals. Just humans, music, and a blue-and-yellow big top.

No return tickets; just nerve, a single show, and a continent waiting to be conquered.

Laliberté took the company's biggest risk yet: he booked Cirque du Soleil to perform at the Los Angeles Arts Festival with 'Le Cirque Réinventé', but could only afford one-way tickets. If the show flopped, there was no money to get the troupe home. It didn't flop. The show was a sensation, earning rave reviews and launching the company into the American market.

Saltimbanco alone drew fourteen million spectators; not bad for a troupe that began life on a Canadian street corner.

The 1990s marked Cirque du Soleil's transformation from a Canadian touring company into a global phenomenon. 'Nouvelle Expérience' (1990) toured North America, Europe, and Japan, while 'Saltimbanco' (1992) became one of the company's most enduring shows, eventually seen by over 14 million people. The company established its international headquarters in Montreal, a sprawling creative campus in the Saint-Michel district built on a former landfill site.

Thirty years on the Las Vegas stage; that is not a gamble, that is a revolution.

Cirque du Soleil's first permanent resident show, 'Mystère', opened at Treasure Island in Las Vegas on 25 December 1993. It was a radical departure for a city built on lounge acts and showgirls. Steve Wynn, the casino mogul, had personally courted Laliberté, and the gamble paid off handsomely. 'Mystère' ran for over 30 years, finally closing in 2024, and it fundamentally changed what Las Vegas entertainment could be.

A $92 million production performed inside a 5.7-million-litre pool. Las Vegas has never quite recovered.

'O', a show performed in, on, and above a 5.7-million-litre pool of water, opened at the Bellagio on 19 October 1998. The production cost an estimated $92 million to create. It became arguably the most acclaimed live show in Las Vegas history, blending synchronised swimming, diving, and aerial acrobatics into something closer to a waking dream than a circus performance. It continues to run today.

London proved one of Cirque's warmest European homes, with audiences across the capital taking to its circus-meets-theatre programme under canvas and crown.

London had seen touring Cirque productions before, but the company's relationship with the capital deepened through the 2000s. Shows including 'Alegría', 'Dralion', and 'Varekai' played under the big top at venues across the city, from Battersea to the Royal Albert Hall. The UK became one of Cirque's strongest European markets, with London audiences proving particularly receptive to the company's blend of athleticism and theatrical storytelling.

Twenty simultaneous shows worldwide, and still sold for a mere $1.5 billion.

In April 2015, Guy Laliberté sold his remaining 90% stake in Cirque du Soleil to a consortium led by American private equity firm TPG Capital, alongside Chinese investment group Fosun Industrial and Quebec's Caisse de dépôt et placement. The deal valued the company at approximately $1.5 billion. Laliberté retained a creative role but the era of founder-led Cirque was over. At the time of the sale, the company was running some 20 shows simultaneously worldwide.

Three-quarters of the workforce gone overnight; the greatest show on earth had no earth left to perform on.

COVID-19 shut down every Cirque du Soleil show on the planet simultaneously. In June 2020, the company filed for creditor protection under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act, laying off approximately 3,480 of its 4,679 employees. It was the darkest chapter in the company's history. By November 2020, Catalyst Capital Group acquired the company, and the slow process of rebuilding began.

Four thousand performers, millions of spectators, one near-death experience; Cirque du Soleil's 40th year proved the big top never really goes dark.

Cirque du Soleil celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2024 with multiple shows touring globally and its Las Vegas residencies restored. The company continues to bring productions to London, with shows at the Royal Albert Hall and under the big top at various locations across the capital. Having survived near-extinction during the pandemic, Cirque emerged leaner but with its creative ambition intact, still employing over 4,000 people and performing to millions each year.