The Circus of the Future

Last summer, the German Roncalli Circus made headlines by being the first worldwide to have a show where holograms of elephants, horses, and more were used, instead of wild or domesticated animals. The projections were created in collaboration with the German Firm blueBOX Studios and are incredibly detailed, even including thousands of detailed bristles on the elephant's skin. In practice, 11 laser projectors beam images onto a very thin metallic netting, hung up all around the round stage at the center of the circus tent.

Roncalli director Bernhard Paul stated that circuses have often been places where people would go not only to be entertained but also where they could be surprised by new technologies, such as electric light. So, it is just natural that they follow the sentiment of an ever-increasing part of their audience in finding alternatives to using live animals by introducing them to holographic projections.

The American wildlife charity Born Free USA counts many problems associated with animals kept by circuses. First, especially larger animals such as elephants and tigers, are used to walking miles per day when living in the wild, while their counterparts in captivity are held in cages at almost all times, except during training or performance. Still, while being denied the freedom to roam in nature, the itinerary nature of a circus naturally means that these animals are forced to travel up to 11 months per year, which has been proven to put them under significant amounts of stress. Second, animals that are used to grouping in herds (such as zebras or lions) need to live alone. More evidently, they are forced to perform tricks that are unnatural to them. Unsurprisingly, a British study from 2009 found that these forced behaviors and living situations so different from the animals' natural state have very serious adverse effects on their health and general well-being.

Instead of walking for miles and socializing in large groups, circus elephants are often caged alone.

Looking at this, public opinion shown in polls from the UK or the US strongly opposes keeping (wild) animals in captivity for circus performances. Consequently, in the last years, public policy has followed suit, slowly moving towards regulating this area more, mainly by prohibiting performances of wild animals. Examples of places where wild animals are now forbidden in circuses are cities like Paris and New York City, US states like California and New Jersey, and countries like Slovenia, the Netherlands, Bolivia, the United Kingdom and many more (here is a non-exhaustive list). Germany and Italy are following them by currently planning bills making at least some wild animals illegal to keep in circuses.

Personally, I still remember going to Roncalli Circus when I was little, and I especially remember the many performances by acrobats riding on horses and ponies. Being very young, I did not think about the welfare of the poor animals locked in cages in the city center of Cologne, but I am sure I would have loved a show where animals are projected onto the air. In fact, many of those who have attended these new kinds of circus shows seem enthusiastic.

So, what is the impact of this innovation?

• First, it has a tremendous impact on the welfare of the animals the circus avoided using and will avoid using in the future.

• Second, it raises the bar of conscious entertainment even further for its industry and proves that it isn't necessary to use real, wild animals to have a good show.

And finally, what can you do with this story? Well, if you happen to be in Germany (post-Covid of course), you can support them by attending a show (great present for any young relatives!), and if not, share it and spread the word!