With laughter, hugs and tears — and the requisite death-defying stunts — the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus received its final standing ovation Sunday night as it performed its last show, the Associated Press reported today. "We are, forevermore, the Greatest Show on Earth," boomed Johnathan Lee Iverson, who has been the ringmaster since 1999. The show was held at the Nassau County Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y. It was an emotional 2 1/2 hours for those who worked on the circus. Many of Ringling's employees are second-, third- and even fourth-generation circus performers, while others met their spouses while touring. Over the years, animal rights activists had targeted Ringling, saying that forcing animals to perform and transporting them around the country amounted to abuse. In May 2016, the company removed elephants from its shows, but ticket sales continued to decline. Ringling's parent company, Feld Entertainment, announced in January it would close the show, citing declining attendance and high operating costs. Once a mainstay of entertainment in small towns and big cities across the country, Ringling had two touring circuses this season, one of which ended its run earlier this month in Providence, R.I. In the end, though, executives said they knew the circus couldn't compete with iPhones, the internet, video games and massively branded and carefully marketed characters.
