Bridgeport, CT – After a five-year sabbatical, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, which has historic roots in Bridgeport, has announced that the 146-year-old three-ring circus would relaunch its "Greatest Show on Earth." In 2017, the circus packed up and said goodbye to what it believed to be the end of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey.

The revamped production will place a greater emphasis on state-of-the-art technologies, interactive components, and acts by great performers selected from across the world and supervised by a former Cirque du Soleil choreographer. The producers of the show have stated that the animals will not return. Beginning in the fall of 2023, the revamped national tour will visit more than 50 cities.

The Greatest Showman, P.T. Barnum, launched in 1871 the traveling spectacle that would eventually become the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Barnum aimed to make his home City of Bridgeport, Connecticut, a thriving city.

“As we look forward to the returning of our Barnum Festival celebration after canceling it to safeguard against the spread of COVID, there has notably been a decline in the amount of live entertainment across the country, Bridgeport was no exception. We are looking forward to Bridgeport becoming the entertainment destination for Connecticut,” Mayor Ganim stated, “It's wonderful to see Barnum's legacy resurrected in the form of live events. We can only hope that the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus will make Bridgeport one of their first stops on their tour at one of our prime locations."