Can you imagine taking your family to a circus without animals? Neither can most people. Big game and exotic wildlife have always graced the stage of traveling circus shows, usually at the end of a sharp prod that a trainer would use to make sure the animals did their bidding.
Since 1782, circuses have always used large, exotic wildlife as part of their main attraction for customers, but Circus Roncalli is changing all that by doing away with the traditional capture and exploitation of the circuses of old, and he’s doing it in a way that’s actually attracting more circus-goers, not less.
Source: Youtube screenshot/Optoma EMEA
The traveling German-based circus has been entertaining the masses of fun-loving, curiosity-filled crowds of Germany for well over four decades now, since 1976.
With rising concerns over animal abuse, the thoughtful circus refrained from using any wild animals in its acts in the 90s, long before any other circus even thought that having a circus without the attraction of “exotic” animals was a possibility. While they continued to use horses in their shows, all of them were bred in a domestic environment and were used to being handled by people.
Source: Youtube screenshot/Optoma EMEA
The circus has always kept their eyes out for a way to do away with the exploitation of real-life animals in general, though, and now they have finally found one. If you go to catch a Roncalli circus act, your eyes will still be lit up with the wonder and majesty of massive elephant’s tusks, stampeding horses, wild whips of tails, and fiery rings filled with extraordinary acrobats… the animals just won’t be real.
Circus Roncalli is the first circus of its kind to ever have a show without the use of a single wild animal with the adoption of their cutting edge holographic tech.
The Circus Roncalli arena boasts a space of 105 feet wide by 16 feet tall, and they want to fill every square inch of it with uncannily realistic, moving images of wildlife brought to life by the circus’s 3D holographic projectors…and they want everyone to get the full experience with a 360-degree view of the action!
Source: Youtube screenshot/Optoma EMEA
In order for the Circus Roncalli to accomplish such an imaginative feat, it was going to take a lot of teamwork and some highly specialized equipment.
To make the magic happen, TAG/TRAUM, Circus Roncalli’s progressive agency, in conjunction with BlueBox, formed a partnership with Optoma, and the entertainment company’s together worked to equip the arena with a total of eleven ZU850-model laser projectors to bring the dream of the circus’s immersive holographic experience into reality.
Source: Youtube screenshot/Optoma EMEA
BlueBox representative, Birger Wunderlich, describes exactly what makes the ZU850 laser projectors the perfect choice for the animal-loving circus:
“We have been using Optoma projectors for 6 years and have consistently had a very positive experience in price, performance, and reliability. We needed a high contrast projector with great colors for the 3D effect and the ZU850’s 2,000,000:1 contrast is perfect for this project,” he proudly proclaims.
Source: Youtube screenshot/Optoma EMEA
While the circus had always intended to phase out the use of wild animals in its circus acts, the push to make it happen right now rather than later came from the rising tide of concerned animal-lovers and animal-rights activists all over the world urging for more humane treatment of show animals not just in circuses, but in zoos and wildlife exhibitions as well.
In addition to this is a growing demand for laws that enforce the demand the animal rights movement, and the Circus Roncalli is all for it.
Source: Youtube screenshot/Optoma EMEA
Over the decades animal rights activists have leveled accusations against many different circus operations for the inhumane treatment and abuse of show animals. Accusations have included the use of brutal force and severe beatings on animals, withholding food from them unto the point of starvation, and housing them in filthy, unsanitary living conditions, to name just a few.
In many instances, sadly, the accusations are all too true, and on top of such despicable treatment, the animals are still made to get up and go out in front of huge, raucous crowds to perform their routine on tight, strict schedules, sometimes appearing two or three times in one night!
Source: Youtube screenshot/Optoma EMEA
Now that more and more people have been made privy to what goes on behind the circus curtain and how terribly these show animals are often treated, people are taking a stand to put an end to their unnecessary suffering for good.
A piece of legislation introduced in the UK, for instance, has come before the government that would move to effectively ban the use of any and all wild animals in any of the country’s traveling circuses.
The bill may or may not pass through legislation and become law, but we are happy to know that Circus Roncalli is setting an example for all the other circuses out of their own good will towards animals.
With their insane increase in ticket sales everywhere the circus travels, we’d say that everyone else is happy about it, too!
To see more of what makes the Circus Roncalli out-magic all the other circuses of its kind, watch the video below.
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