The last days of Cirque du Soleil: How COVID-19 brought down an entertainment empire

[Demovictory9]

https://www.fastcompany.com/90489970/the-last-days-of-cirque-du-soleil-how-covid-19-brought-down-an-entertainment-empire

The last days of Cirque du Soleil: How COVID-19 brought down an entertainment empire
The global circus brand remains optimistic that it will reopen once the pandemic ends. It may not be the same company by then.

The slow-motion shutdown of Cirque du Soleil should have been an early warning of the disaster to come. The novel coronavirus was still considered a local problem in late January, when the world’s largest circus producer canceled performances of The Land of Fantasy, its first and only permanent offering in China. Within two months, the virus had spread to every corner of the world.


“Everything was going very well,” recalls Diane Quinn, Cirque’s chief creative officer, who had visited the show in Hangzhou, near the epicenter of the outbreak in Wuhan, just a few weeks earlier.

The abrupt cancellation of The Land of Fantasy was a serious blow to profits, but a manageable one. Cirque still had 43 other shows around the world. COVID-19 would not have an official name for a few more weeks, and even as late as early March, the idea that it could grind the entire world to a halt seemed unimaginable.

An outbreak in Italy was an inflection point for the company. Cirque had a show set to open in Rome—its tent was already erected and tickets were being sold—when the event’s promoter called it off. The show would have gone on to Milan, but that would clearly be impossible after the Italian government locked down the country on March 9.

One by one, the dominos fell—more cancellations, more travel restrictions, more bad news. “As the virus spread across Europe and ultimately into North America, we realized, boy, we’re going to have a problem on our hands,” Quinn says.
Las Vegas, which accounted for some 35% of Cirque’s revenue and is the company’s most important market, was the final straw. On March 14, CEO Daniel Lamarre received a call from MGM Entertainment in Las Vegas, informing him that all of the city’s casinos and other tourist destinations would be shut down.

“I woke up the day after, Sunday morning, and I had no more shows, no more revenue,” Lamarre says. The world had come to a halt, and Cirque du Soleil with it. For the first time in 35 years, the show wouldn’t go on.

https://www.fastcompany.com/90489970/the-last-days-of-cirque-du-soleil-how-covid-19-brought-down-an-entertainment-empire

[madaboutharry]

1. I saw Volta in Montreal a few years ago.

It was a remarkable experience.

[Skittles]

4. I loved it

caught them in Vegas and - it's just, wow - it really makes a memory

[msongs]

2. nobody involved saved their $ & owner made himself a billionaire by trashing employees.

sad for the employees

[SunSeeker]

3. So sad. And there will be no quick return.

This is going to be a long, draining slog for those who perform in front of audiences.

[Lock him up.]

5. That headline is misleading.

Clic bait kindof.

"Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, a Canadian manager of pension funds that doubled its stake in February. “They’re very eager to keep us alive,” Lamarre says."

That "socialist" firm (takes weekly or bi-weekly "mandatory" deposits from millions of workers in the province by law) has a capital of over 350 Billions CDN.

They will be back.

[Demovictory9]

6. good to know

[Lock him up.]

7. Although it is a sad period to go through for performers.

No doubt about that. But I don't know if they are covered by the Canadian unemployment insurance program if they get their paychecks from the Head-Office in Montreal.

If they were hired by contracts it will be even sadder. Hope they have enough savings.