Ringling Bros. Circus Is Shutting Down

“The Greatest Show on Earth” will be no more after 146 years.

The owner of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus told The Associated Press the show will close forever in May of this year, as Fox News and other outlets reported Sunday morning.

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Enjoyed by kids of all ages for generations, the iconic American spectacle fell victim to declining attendance, high operating costs, and extended fights with animal rights groups, among other factors, executives said.

“There isn’t any one thing,” Kenneth Feld, chairman and CEO of Feld Entertainment told Fox News. “This has been a very difficult decision for me and for the entire family.”

The company gave circus employees the news about the closure on Saturday night after shows in Orlando and Miami.

Between now and May, two touring circuses will perform 30 shows in Atlanta, Washington, Philadelphia, Boston and Brooklyn. The final shows will be in Providence, Rhode Island, on May 7, and in Uniondale, New York, at the Nassau County Coliseum on May 21.

Related: The Circus Goes to Xtremes

Aside from the flashy costumes and hair-raising acrobatic acts that characterized most circus programs, the elephant in the room was, actually, the elephant in the room. Kenneth Feld and his daughter Juliette Feld, the chief operating officer, “acknowledged another reality that led to the closing, and it was the one thing that initially drew millions to the show: the animals. Ringling has been targeted by activists who say forcing animals to perform is cruel and unnecessary,” as Fox News noted.

In May 2016, the company took the elephants out of the shows as a result of a legal battle and sent them to live in Florida on a conservation farm.

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