Cirque du Soleil, the producer of numerous acrobatic theater shows like La Nouba, which played at Disney World for nearly 20 years and the maker of a new show that was scheduled to appear earlier in the year, has filed for bankruptcy, CNN reported Monday.
In an announcement Monday, the Montreal-based company blamed its bankruptcy on the “immense disruption and forced show closures as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic” and is aiming to restructure its debt with assistance from the Canadian government and numerous other private equity firms.
The filing comes three months after it temporarily suspended production of its 44 worldwide shows, including “Drawn to Life.” It was slated to replace La Nouba at Disney Springs on March 20, 2020, but was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic. Cirque du Soleil also produces six shows in residence in Las Vegas, including the world-renowned “O” and “The Beatles LOVE”, which were also shut down by the pandemic.
“For the past 36 years, Cirque du Soleil has been a highly successful and profitable organization,” said Daniel Lamarre, CEO of Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group in a release. “However, with zero revenues since the forced closure of all of our shows due to Covid-19, management had to act decisively to protect the company’s future.”
