The clowns, animal acts and acrobats of the storied Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus took their final bow on Sunday, with a space-themed balancing act kicking off the farewell performance of the “greatest show on Earth” after 146 years.



Capping a legacy that stretches back to the 19th-century showman PT Barnum, the circus bade adieu with a series of shows at the weekend at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York.

Kenneth Feld, the chairman and chief executive of the circus owner Feld Entertainment Inc, said at the show: “It’s incredibly heartwarming to see all of you that have come out for the final performance.”

Animal trainer Alexander Lacey performs with Maasai the lion. Photograph: Peter Foley/EPA

He said more than 250 million people had seen Ringling’s shows – with the final one livestreamed on the Ringling website – and added: “It’s the people, it’s the spirit, the dedication, the perseverance of everyone that you’ll see here tonight that makes the impossible possible.”

The finale, announced by Feld in January, came a year after the company bowed to pressure from animal rights activists and agreed to stop using elephants in its performances. A featured attraction for more than a century, the elephants had come to symbolise the Ringling Bros brand.

Feld decided to fold its tent as a result of high operating costs combined with lower ticket sales. After phasing out the elephants, the owner said, the decline in attendance was “greater than could have been anticipated”.

A Ringling Bros elephant in the 1960s. Photograph: AP

Ringling Bros continued to use tigers, lions, horses, dogs and camels, despite fierce criticism from Peta.

The circus has long defended its treatment of animals as humane. The 13 Asian elephants used in Ringling’s two touring companies were retired to the company’s 200-acre (80-hectare) Center for Elephant Conservation in Polk City, Florida.

Fewer than 40,000 Asian elephants remain in the wild. About 250 are in captivity in the US, 26 of which were born in the past 20 years at Ringling facilities.