circus

The 2015 edition of the Figueres Circus Festival, in the north-eastern part of Catalonia near the French border, will break all records. The festival will be held from Thursday, 26 February to Monday, 2 March. This edition will feature 24 previously unseen performances in Europe by more than 80 artists from 17 different countries, thanks to the incorporation of new countries such as Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Uzbekistan. Another novelty is the inclusion of air performances, so the event will use a big top without columns for the first time, allowing the public to enjoy a 360º view. One of the main air shows will be offered by the North Korean Pyongyang National Circus. Some 30,000 tickets have gone on sale, but the event will offer some free cultural activities too.

Cirque du Soleil will be performing in PortAventura at least until 2020, the popular family resort and theme park on the Costa Daurada (Catalan for the Golden Coast) in Tarragona, southern Catalonia. The five-year partnership was announced this week, after last season’s success. The internationally renowned Canadian performance troop made their debut at the Catalan theme-park last summer, with their show ´Koozo´ in July and August. Following its success they decided to base their summer productions there until 2020. In 2015 they will perform ´Amaluna´, a show that combines a coming-of-age tale with a love story. The show will coincide with the 20^th anniversary of the theme park, one of the most popular family destinations in Europe. 

This year's edition of Barcelona's performing arts summer festival, Grec, attracted around 80,000 spectators and achieved a 58.15% capacity utilisation in the shows which require payment. According to provisional statistics, taken before the event was over, for the 79 shows that made up the summer festival there were 136,291 seats available and 67,623 tickets were sold, filling 49.61% of the potential capacity. However, overall there was total of 79,254 spectators. Last year 66,466 people attended the shows which required payment and 55,766 tickets were sold. The total number of spectators who attended the festival this year, both paying customers and those who went to free shows, amounted to 127,471 people, whilst in 2013 there were 119,000 individuals.

The Trapezi International Circus Festival was a success with more than 100,000 visitors in its 18^th edition, thanks to the evolution of the event. This year, after two editions affected by the economic crisis, Trapezi changed its goals and presented a festival focused on new languages and techniques. Jordi Gaspar, the Artistic Director since 2012, has been an essential part of this evolutionary process bringing new creative companies to the fair and conserving the more consolidated ones. Also he has increased the number of Catalan companies to the detriment of international ones with the aim of creating a showcase of Catalan proposals without leaving behind the importance of international circus trends.

Trapezi, the main circus fair of Catalonia, which takes place in Reus from the 8^th to the 12^th of May, is bringing more than 36 theater and circus companies, performing more than 80 shows. With 24 domestic proposals and 11 international ones, Trapezi is filling the streets and theatres of Reus this month with different shows and a great diversity of spectacles. The aim of the fair is to internationalize the Catalan circus factory and to promote meetings among all those involved in the event. The Catalan Government wants to turn Trapezi into a professional event and make it a tool for projecting Catalan circus troupes all over the world. Throughout this edition the organization is emphasizing innovative performances and new formats.

The third Festival Internacional del Circ de Figueres held its final gala on Monday evening with 13 performances on show. The winners of the Golden Elephant were a Chinese juggler, Kai Cao, and two more Asian groups, the Chinese Flag Circus and the North Korean National Circus of Pyongyang. The Critics Jury and a Jury dedicated to the image of the performances awarded prizes to two Chilean artists, the contortionist Catalina Pala and the clown Pastelito. This year, more than 28,000 spectators attended the festival, double the attendance of the first year.

PortAventura will be launching new attraction ‘Angkor: Adventure in the Lost Kingdom’ this year to coincide with the start of the 2014 season in early April. The new attraction will allow visitors to embark on a 300 meter boat trip through the Asian jungle, designed to simulate the historic Cambodian temple: Angkor Wat. The attraction is located in the China area of the park, near Shambhala, Europe´s highest rollercoaster. The new attraction is a replicate of the temple, which is said to be the largest religious structure in the world. Meanwhile, the park will host Cirque du Soleil’s ‘Kooza’ show during the summer months.

Italian Investindustrial has sold 49.9 % of its stake in PortAventura amusement park to KKR, a US investment fund. With this operation Investindustrial has incorporated a long-term partner in the project, while making sure to be the majority shareholder with 50.1 %. The transaction will be effective in January 2014 and is only awaiting regulatory approvals. In the long-term strategy, PortAventura is looking for other agreements to broaden the range of leisure activities and develop further at international level. A few weeks ago it was made public that Investindustrial would join the BCN World project by building and managing 3,000 hotel rooms. Besides, it has been announced that the Cirque du Soleil would give daily shows in PortAventura from the summer of 2014.

The 37^th annual Grec Festival is to close on Wednesday with an expected increase of 1,000 tickets sold compared to last year’s edition. Festival Director, Ramon Simó, assured that the festival has been a success and that ticket targets have been achieved. With regards to the attendance by genre, theatre events were the most popular with 38,878 viewers watching 40 shows (at 44% capacity). 14,362 people watched 14 live concerts (63% capacity), 10,652 spectators watched the 8 dance shows on offer (70% capacity), while the 4 circus productions received 5,574 viewers (86% capacity). The average attendance to the festival was 52%, which considering the crisis in the performing arts sector is a significant figure according to Simó.

The magic of circus descended on Figueres last week. Over a long weekend, this town in northern Catalonia, close to the French border and the Costa Brava, hosted the second edition of the International Circus Festival. The event is unique due to its global visibility and the performances of artists belonging to the international circus elite, who have never been seen before in Western Europe. The Festival is a special experience for spectators, but also represents a professional chance for artists to become known, as they compete before a jury formed by key personalities in the field, such as Line Giason, the Casting Director of Cirque du Soleil. This year’s winners were Jinan Acrobatics Troupe from China and Troupe Yakov Ekk from Russia.

46 shows will be performed by 45 companies in the official section of FiraTàrrega 2012. The 2012 edition starts on September 6th until September 9th. The festival is covering the majority of the VAT increase affecting ticket prices and advance sales have been doing better than in previous years.

Twenty artists from Beijing’s National Circus o present ‘The Dream of a Journey to the East’ at the Porta Ferrada Festival, in the Costa Brava's town of Sant Felíu de Guíxols. The show, with a mix of entertainment and acrobatics choreographed to music, is directed by a showman who leads the narrative in close proximity to the spectators. Beijing’s National Circus has visited over 60 countries in the past 40 years and has won several international competitions.

Last weekend, Figueres held the final of the first edition of the International Circus Festival Castell de Figueres. The winners were the Troupe Zolà, a Mongolian group who seduced the public with their extraordinary platform jumps. Magic, music, great artists and a fantastic show were the ingredients of a night to remember.

The Catalan town of Figueres will host the first edition of the International Circus Festival from March 1st to 4th. Three special trains have been arranged to bring viewers from París and Milan. The International Circus Festival includes 52 artists from 13 different countries. It will take place in Sant Ferran Castle.

The company plans to open 60 new stores around the world in 2012, and build a new logistics centre in the town of Viladecans, located south of Barcelona. This year, the Catalan brand plans to launch a household linen collection and collaborate with the famous Cirque du Soleil to present new designs inspired by the spectacle.