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Since its inception in 1984, Cirque du Soleil has wowed over 180 million spectators across 450 cities, spanning every continent except Antarctica. Simply put, there's likely a Cirque show happening near you—or one is coming soon.
For those new to it, Cirque du Soleil—celebrating its 35th anniversary in July 2019—blends circus acts, street performance, remarkable acrobatics, and avant-garde creativity. Regardless of the show’s theme, technology is always incorporated, with the Montreal-based company, now a leading force in live theater, continually elevating its performances with cutting-edge stages, spectacular effects, and world-class stunts. Keep reading for more astonishing facts about Cirque du Soleil.
Cirque du Soleil started as a group of 20 street performers.
Cirque du Soleil traces its origins back to Les Échassiers de Baie-Saint-Paul (the Baie-Saint-Paul Stiltwalkers), a troupe that performed fire-breathing and juggling acts on the streets of Baie-Saint-Paul, Quebec, in the early 1980s. One of the group's members was Guy Laliberté, who left college to join the performers. In 1984, he pitched an idea to the Canadian government for a group of artists to tour the country in celebration of Jacques Cartier's 450th anniversary of discovering Canada. Laliberté secured a $1 million contract to bring the proposal to life, leading to the founding of Cirque du Soleil as a non-profit organization.
Cirque du Soleil translates to "Circus of the Sun."
"When I need to recharge, I head to the ocean to relax and watch the sunsets. That's where the concept of 'Soleil' came from, on a beach in Hawaii, because the Sun symbolizes youth and energy," Laliberté shared with Fortune in 2011.
Las Vegas hosts six permanent Cirque du Soleil performances.
Cirque du Soleil's debut show featured 10 acts and toured 15 cities across Quebec. Today, there are 23 Cirque du Soleil productions worldwide, including six permanent shows in Las Vegas and 12 on tour. While it's difficult to pinpoint the most popular performance, Cirque du Soleil considers Alegría—which ran from 1994 to 2013 before being reinterpreted in 2019—as one of its most cherished productions, with 6600 performances attended by over 14 million fans globally. That’s a lot of tickets.
Mystère holds the record as the longest-running Cirque du Soleil performance.
As Cirque's first permanent show in Las Vegas, Mystère has had the longest run of any Cirque production. Premiering in 1993 at Treasure Island, this whimsical, family-friendly show blends gymnastics, trapeze artistry, and the signature Cirque du Soleil style.
Producing Cirque du Soleil shows requires a massive budget.
For instance, Ká—which debuted in 2005—had an estimated production cost of at least $165 million, making it one of the most costly theatrical shows in history (for comparison, the Spider-Man Broadway musical had an estimated budget around half of that). A significant portion of the funds went toward elaborate technical effects, including a vertical battle scene with acrobats suspended on wires. Tragically, it was during this scene that aerialist Sarah Guillot-Guyard lost her life in 2013, marking Cirque du Soleil's first fatality during a performance.
Cirque du Soleil even has a show performed on ice.
Crystal, Cirque’s inaugural ice performance, debuted in December 2017 in Quebec City and Montreal. It's essentially the signature Cirque du Soleil stunts, but with a twist—everyone’s skating.
Many Cirque du Soleil performers are former Olympians.
With a roster of 1300 artists from 50 countries, Cirque du Soleil states that about 40 percent of its performers come from disciplines like rhythmic gymnastics and diving. For instance, in 2016, Cirque featured 22 Olympians (including two medalists) on stage in various roles, from high-flying trampoline acts to synchronized swimming. And this doesn’t even include the numerous performers recruited from national gymnastics teams.
Performers in Cirque du Soleil undergo rigorous training.
Before joining a specific show, aspiring performers undergo artistic and acrobatic training at Cirque du Soleil’s international headquarters in Montreal. Depending on the role and show, they participate in daily training sessions and warm-ups, sometimes lasting more than 90 minutes, as well as regular rehearsals. These daily routines often include weightlifting, stretching, handstands, pull-ups, sit-ups, and rope work.
Cirque du Soleil kitchens on tour go through as much as 3000 pounds of food each week.
Each traveling Cirque production has a team of about five chefs who prepare meals daily for the cast and crew. Menus change regularly and highlight local cuisine from wherever the show performs (think: bison in Denver or étouffée in Louisiana). Paola Muller, the kitchen manager, shared in a 2017 interview that the kitchen can consume between 2000 to 3000 pounds of food per week. A 2016 Thrillist article also revealed that each meal includes 90 to 100 pounds of protein, along with a salad bar featuring 22 ingredients.
Cirque du Soleil is committed to safety—but its stunts remain risky.
Performers in Cirque du Soleil regularly execute dangerous stunts. While the company enforces strict safety protocols (some performers have even labeled them 'annoying'), accidents and injuries still occur. In 2012, Vanity Fair reported 53 injuries across Cirque's permanent Las Vegas shows, and in 2018, a tragic incident occurred when an aerialist lost her life during a Volta performance in Florida.
Princess Diana was an early admirer of Cirque du Soleil.
In 1990, Princess Diana took Princes Harry and William to a early Cirque du Soleil performance. Later, in 2019, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, attended a Cirque du Soleil charity event. During the performance, the Duchess wore one of Diana's bracelets and a dress inspired by her late mother-in-law's style.
Cirque du Soleil runs an outreach program based on the concept of the 'social circus.'
Launched in 1995, Cirque du Monde is based on the belief that circus arts can serve as a tool for helping at-risk youth, fostering confidence and a sense of community among children who need it most. This philosophy is known as the 'social circus,' and it, along with other global citizen initiatives, has impacted 100,000 children across 50 countries.
Some of the costumes in Cirque du Soleil's O are made using shower curtains.
The costumes for Cirque du Soleil productions are not only visually striking but must also be functional, providing athletic performance and safety. The Montreal-based Costume Workshop employs 300 full-time artisans, including shoemakers, milliners, and textile designers, to create these unique costumes.
The development of each costume is a creative process that involves a great deal of trial and error. For example, Cirque's water-themed show, O, in Las Vegas uses materials like shower curtains, pipe cleaners, and foam pieces to make certain costume elements float on water. The wardrobe team handles 60 loads of laundry per night to keep the 4800 costumes and accessories pristine, with a dedicated room for drying, equipped with special heaters.
Luzia holds the distinction of being the first Cirque show performed entirely in Spanish.
While Cirque du Soleil shows generally avoid speaking roles (that's where the mimes come in!), Luzia is the first to be fully en Español. The title combines two Spanish words—luz meaning 'light' and lluvia meaning 'rain'—and features innovative elements like a high-tech rain curtain and a rotating stage.
Cirque du Soleil can now be experienced in virtual reality.
Expanding the Cirque experience into the world of virtual reality, in 2018, MK2, a Paris-based VR cinema company, secured distribution rights for four Cirque shows, co-produced with Canada’s Felix & Paul Studios. Now, you can immerse yourself in moments from Ká, Kurios, Luzia, and O on platforms like Google Daydream, Oculus Rift, and Samsung Gear VR, among others.
Cirque du Soleil's The Beatles LOVE has outlasted the Beatles themselves on stage.
Cirque's Beatles-themed show, LOVE, has been running since 2006. The Beatles were together for roughly a decade, from 1960 (or 1962, if you consider when Ringo Starr joined and they released their first single) to 1970. LOVE continues to be a beloved staple in the Cirque lineup, often filling 75 to 90 percent of theater capacity and ranking high on many Las Vegas “must-see” lists.
