The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus has long been a staple of America for better or for worse. At the best it was a great experiment in advertising and marketing that is still taught in colleges today, and at worst they were really shitty at times to their animals.
The show has been waning in popularity over the years, but when I was a kid it was still a fairly big deal when it came through town. While I’m no fan of animals being shipped around to dance for our amusement, I’m still happy I got the chance to see it live before it went away.
The final show ever will happen on May 21st and the whole thing is going to be broadcast on Facebook Live. I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate 100 years than something like this that just just how far we’ve come. The show will be taking place at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in New York City.
100 years is a pretty good run for any show and it will be sad to see it go, even if it makes sense that it does. It truly is the end of an era.