Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus to end ‘The Greatest Show On Earth’

It’s curtains for “The Greatest Show on Earth.” Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus is shutting down after 146 years in operation.

That’s according to a press release from the company’s CEO, who called it a “difficult decision.” The final performance will be May 21st in Uniondale, New York.

Ticket sales were not enough to match the high cost of running the show and after the circus recently stopped using elephants, sales slowed even more. Ringling Brothers was founded in Wisconsin in 1884 by five of the seven Ringling brothers. The family ran the circus until 1967 when it was sold to Feld Entertainment.