Clarissa Williams, of West Hempstead, N.Y., poses with her daughter Nylah, 8, after seeing one of the final shows of Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey circus at the Nassau Veteran's Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y., ...

UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) - Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus began its final show Sunday evening after 146 years of wowing audiences with its "Greatest Show on Earth." The Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus that has wowed crowds for nearly 150 years with its “Greatest Show on Earth,” before facing increasingly intense controversy over its use of live large animals, is taking its final bow Sunday night. Earlier in the day, as the circus performed its second-to-last show at the Nassau County Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) east of New York City, a group of retired and former circus performers sat across the street at a hotel bar, laughing and hugging and sharing memories of tours past. “People are not really concerned with lots of wildlife until they can feel it and see it, enjoy it and love it as much as I do,” he said, urging the audience to support well-run circuses and zoos. Faced with declining ticket sales after it pulled elephants out of the show, Feld Entertainment, the company that owns Ringling, decided the last show after 146 years will be Sunday night in New York. It’s an arena show, with an extravaganza of big cats, motorcycle stunts, clowns performing death-defying tricks, ice skaters and Mongolian contortionists — and that’s just the first half.
After 146 years, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus comes to a close.