For many years, it’s been a well-known fact that circus animals are abused and mistreated, forced to perform for paying crowds and punished harshly if they “mess up” or fail to meet trainers’ expectations. It’s a barbaric practice that activists have been trying to stop for years, and one that a German circus is determined to put a stop to by using holograms instead of live animals.
- Circus Roncalli is doing something incredible. It’s the first circus in the world to completely avoid using live animals in their shows and instead opt for electronic holograms, according to BBC News. While the circus has been around for decades, it wasn’t until 2018 that Circus Roncalli founder Bernhard Paul was inspired to make the change.
- Thank the Super Bowl Half Time Show! Paul came up with the idea of using holograms in his circus after he saw Justin Timberlake perform during the Super Bowl Half Time Show in 2018 alongside a hologram of Prince. Paul immediately went to work seeing how he could apply the same technology to his show, and history was made!
- The show uses 11 projectors to create some amazing visuals. Those projectors create incredibly realistic 3D holograms of everything from elephants and horses to fish that tumble, do tricks, and showcase amazing effects on stage and no animals have to be harmed to make it happen. A crew of 15 designers and software engineers worked together to make the show, and it seems their hard work paid off!
- It was an easy transition for Roncalli to make. Paul said that the show’s original focus was always on acrobatics, clowns, and poetic acts, so switching out the live animals for holographic ones didn’t take anything away from their show or present any serious challenges. However, I guarantee it made a whole lot of animals much happier!
- Want to see it in person? Now you can! If you’re going to be in Germany anytime soon, you can book tickets to one of Circus Roncalli’s shows by visiting their website HERE. Something tells me it’ll be a show unlike any other you’ve ever seen!
