Ellenton-based Feld Entertainment, which retired the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in 2017, is planning a comeback for the “Greatest Show on Earth” — but without the animals.
“We are still in the very initial planning phase, but we do know that the The Greatest Show On Earth will return without animals,” a spokesperson for Ellenton-based Feld Entertainment said in an email. An official announcement will be made in 2022.”
Among factors previously cited in shutting down the circus was declining ticket sales, high operating costs, the public’s changing tastes and costly fights with animal rights groups.