Kenneth Feld, chairman and CEO of show producer Feld Entertainment, said he and his family came to the "difficult" decision to end the circus "after much evaluation and deliberation." Ringling Bros. has two touring circuses this season: “Circus Extreme” and “Out of This World.” The final show for “Circus Extreme” will be in Providence, Rhode Island, on May 7, and the other will close after a performance in Uniondale, New York, at the Nassau County Coliseum on May 21. The company circus held its last show featuring elephants last May, before completely retiring the animals to the a 200-acre conservation center in Polk City, Fla., established by Feld Entertainment in 1995. Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus said late Saturday it would deliver its final performance in May, shutting down after a nearly century-and-a-half run as “The Greatest Show on Earth.”

The iconic American show will end after 146 years, succumbing to numerous obstacles in recent years such as rising operating costs, falling attendance and mounting criticism from animal rights groups. Kenneth Feld, CEO of Feld Entertainment, which has owned the circus for the past 50 years said the decline of ticket sales, compounded by the high operating costs “made the circus an unsustainable business for the company.”

The phasing out of elephants contributed to the massive decline of sales.
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus announces it will cease operation in May after 146 years, due to lower attendance, higher operating costs and protests from animal rights activists.