David A. Walega/FilmMagic via Getty Images(NEW YORK) — The iconic 146-year-old Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus will hold its final performances in May as “The Greatest Show on Earth” comes to an end.
Feld Entertainment, the parent company of the circus, confirmed the show’s closing to ABC News in a statement citing a decline in ticket sales along with the high cost of touring, particularly after elephants were removed from performances.
“We are grateful to the hundreds of millions of fans who have experienced Ringling Bros. over the years,” Feld Entertainment chairman and CEO Kenneth Feld said in a statement. “Between now and May, we will give them one last chance to experience the joy and wonder of Ringling Bros.”
The news comes after Kristen Michelle Wilson made history this week as the first woman ringmaster to run the show at Ringling Bros.
The entertainment company will hold a press conference on Monday to discuss the circus’ closing. The final performances of the two circus units will be at Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island, on May 7, and at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y., on May 21.
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