For years, the shows of the Cirque du SoleilFull of light, movement, acrobatics and art, they have filled the halls and tents of half the world, practically exhausting the entrances wherever they performed.
But when the coronavirus forced cancellation of all passes, Cirque du Soleil was no exception. It was to be expected that one of the best-performing companies in the sector could withstand the onslaught, but it appears that it did not.
It was recently published in the international press that the company was carrying a debt of 900 million dollars and that its survival was in danger.
For 36 years, the Cirque du Soleil It has been an example of success, both artistic and business.
FROM THE STREET TO FILLING TENTS.
The origins of Cirque Du Soleil They go back to the early years of the eighties. At that time, a group of artists was performing on the streets of Baie-Saint-Paul, near the Canadian city of Quebec, according to data provided by the company page.
In 1980 they called themselves “Les Échassiers de Baie-Sant-Paul”, translated would be the stilt walkers of Baie-Saint-Paul, by the stilts on which they walked in one of their circus numbers.
The company says that in their performances they brought together various disciplines, such as juggling, music and dance, among others.
Among the members of such a peculiar circus were Gilles Ste-Croix (Quebec, 1949) and Guy Laliberté (Quebec, 1959), who became the founders of Cirque du Soleil.
In 1984, Laliberté believed that the show had reached another level and they undertook a tour throughout the province taking advantage of the 450th anniversary of the discovery of Canada.
What Cirque du Soleil put on stage was much more than just a circus. For example, unlike conventional circuses of the time, there were no numbers with animals.
Then, Laliberté called those who made Cirque du Soleil, or circus of the sun, during that tour, because he said, according to what is read in the story published on his website, “the sun symbolizes youth, energy, strength”.
The company began bringing its flashy outfits, its dramatic and thoughtful shows to other territories, and in 1987 they closed their first US tour called “We reinvent the circus”. In 1990, they set out to conquer the European public.
Cirque du Soleil has taken different bets on stage in recent years, from “Saltimbanco”, from 1992 to 2012, to “Messi10”, recently inspired by the Argentine soccer star, passing through “Alegría”, from 1994 to 2013 .
FROM STREET ARTIST TO MILLIONAIRE.
Among the two founders, Laliberté has been the one who has had a more public profile and in recent years has starred in headlines for reasons that had little to do with his artistic side.
As he told Forbes himself, Laliberté grew up in a world very balanced between business and creativity. “My mother was very, very creative, eccentric. My father was a public relations guy, a wheel salesman, ”he told the magazine.
At the age of 18, he left Canada for a time to hitchhike through Europe. It was during this experience, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica, when he came into contact with street art: he made money playing the accordion and different artists taught him to swallow fire or walk on stilts.
A little later, back in Quebec, Laliberté left school.
In 2009, when he was already famous and had a privileged financial situation. She went into space as a tourist aboard the Russian Soyuz TMA-16 spacecraft, on a visit to the International Space Station. A year later, he was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
His life is not without controversy and eccentricities. According to different media, he is also an avid poker player with strong bets involved and, at the end of 2019, he was arrested on his private island in French Polynesia for maintaining an important cultivation of marijuana there.
In 2015, Laliberté, the majority owner of the circus, sold 90% of the shares it owned to three investors: to the Quebec Pension System, to a US fund and to another Chinese one.
These transactions brought him an economic benefit, according to Business Insider, of around 1,500 million dollars. At that time, it retained a 10% stake in the company, which it disposed of in early 2020.
Recently he has said he is ready to come to the rescue of the circus that he set up. For now, the one that has already answered the distress call has been the Government of Quebec, which has granted the company a loan of around 200 million dollars.
In the “most difficult yet”, the Cique du Soleil is ready to rise from its financial ashes….
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