The Glitter, the Grit, and the Sawdust Beneath It All
There’s something about the way a circus tent glows from within, all bright with the promise of spectacle. The circus used to mean escape, a place where logic bent and gravity didn’t matter. Lions leapt through rings of fire, trapeze artists appeared weightless in the air, and the crowd held its collective gasp as they gazed on. But however bright the shimmer, it always casts a shadow. For every legendary big top that brought wonder to the world, another left a trail of scandal in its wake. Here are ten of the most famous circuses that ever were and ten of the most outrageous.
1. Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus
They called it the “Greatest Show on Earth,” and for a time they were likely right. For nearly 150 years, Ringling Bros. rolled across America with elephants, acrobats, and more sequins than Vegas. But as the protests over animal cruelty grew louder, the elephants were retired. By 2017, the lights finally went off permanently.
2. Cirque du Soleil
Born from a handful of street performers in Quebec, Cirque du Soleil reinvented the whole thing. They had no animals or ringmaster barking through a megaphone, just music and movement. It’s hard not to get chills watching someone twist 20 feet in the air on a ribbon.
3. Big Apple Circus
Founded in the late 1970s by two juggling street performers, Big Apple maintained the intimacy that Ringling lost. It’s the kind of place where the clown’s eyes meet yours, and for a second, you feel like they’re performing just for you.
Phillip Capper from Wellington, New Zealand on Wikimedia
4. The Moscow State Circus
Everything about this Soviet export feels disciplined and precise. Their acts verge on the impossible, with gymnasts moving like clockwork and contortionists defying physics. For decades, they represented Russian pride and were a propaganda tool wrapped in glittering tights.
5. Circus Krone
This is Germany’s largest circus and one of Europe’s oldest still running. It began with a menagerie in the 19th century and evolved into a full spectacle under the Krone family. Their winter quarters in Munich still host shows, echoing with brass bands and timeless applause.
Daniel Kaltenthaler (Diskussion) on Wikimedia
6. Circo Hermanos Vazquez
If you’ve ever driven through the American Southwest and spotted a big striped tent with a Spanish name, odds are it was them. Circo Hermanos Vazquez started in Mexico and grew into an international sensation. It’s loud, joyful, and full of unpretentious laughter.
7. Circus Vargas
Born out of California in the 1960s, this circus is pure Americana, with juggling, trapeze acts, and motorcycles driving head over heels in steel spheres as kids watch in wide-eyed wonderment. They were one of the first to drop animal acts voluntarily, keeping the focus on human skill.
8. Cirque Eloize
This is Cirque du Soleil’s moodier cousin, with an emphasis on the theatrical. Based in Montreal, Cirque Éloize weaves story and character through their shows, making you feel like you’ve stumbled upon a play being acted out by acrobats.
János Korom Dr. >17 Million views from Wien, Austria on Wikimedia
9. Circus Knie
Switzerland’s national circus is still family-run after a century. They tour with breathtaking Alpine precision and a sort of understated elegance. They’ve collaborated with clowns and even with famous pop acts, blending tradition with modern showbiz.
Roland zh, upload on 17. Mai 2009 on Wikimedia
10. Cirque Mechanics
Imagine acrobats swinging from gears and trapeze artists suspended over mechanical contraptions that groan and whir. The acts all share an industrial element, and somehow, their steampunk vision of the circus works.
Now for the other side that gave circuses a bad name.
1. P.T. Barnum’s American Museum and Traveling Show
Yes, that Barnum. Not only did his museum burn down twice, but his so-called “Feejee Mermaid” (a monkey torso sewn to a fish tail) made him infamous. He blurred the truth so often that people stopped believing in the spectacle.
2. The Great Wallendas
They may have been legendary aerialists, but when their famous “seven-person pyramid” collapsed in 1962, it killed two members of their troupe and paralyzed another. Even now, every performance carries that same ghostly echo of risk.
Porterlu at English Wikipedia on Wikimedia
3. The Cole Bros. Circus
For decades, it toured across America’s backroads, but the glamour hid a nefarious cruelty. In 2016, the circus was accused of mistreating their elephants and tigers and was fined for violating the Endangered Species Act. By 2020, the tent was gone for good.
4. Carson & Barnes Circus
They became known for their massive elephant acts, but that reputation would be eclipsed by an equally massive controversy. When leaked undercover videos showed trainers striking animals, the backlash hit hard. They kept rolling for a while, but their golden age was already in the rearview mirror.
5. The Clyde Beatty–Cole Bros. Merger
These two struggling circuses joined forces in the 1930s and, for a time, thrived. But their rough handling of big cats turned public opinion. When you watch the old footage of them driving lions at the end of a whip, you feel less thrilled than unsettled.
6. The Great European Circus Fire (1944)
When the Ringling Bros. tent caught fire in Hartford, Connecticut, over 160 people were killed in the blaze. The waxed canvas burned too fast for people to reach the exits. The circus world never fully recovered from that day.
7. Circo Panamericano
They were once a beloved South American traveling circus, until word spread of animal mistreatment and workers going unpaid. The show folded under the barrage of protests that followed this scandal. Locals still remember the gaudy posters plastered on old brick walls long after the tents vanished.
Jorge Daniel Lopez Lagarreta on Unsplash
8. Billy Smart’s Circus
This was a British favorite from the 1950s through the 1980s, with elephants, tigers, and elaborate Christmas specials on TV. But as times changed, so did public sentiment. By the ’90s, animal acts were a blemish to their reputation more than a selling point.
Solipsist~commonswiki on Wikimedia
9. Zirkus Althoff
This notorious German circus was caught smuggling animals and ever since has been operating under multiple aliases to escape legal detection. Every few years it reappears with new branding and the same stubborn self-inflicted problems.
10. Circo del Horror
This short-lived 1980s curiosity mixed gore effects like fake blood and chainsaws with circus acts. The show fizzled out after a few accidents caused real blood to mingle with the fake.
