Greatest Show on Earth’ takes its final bow after 146 years

Two performers hug after the final show of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, Sunday. After 146 years, America’s most celebrated circus Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus has staged its final performance in New York. (Julie Jacobson / AP)

Updated on: May 22, 2017 3:37 PM IST

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Two performers hug after the final show of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, Sunday. After 146 years, America’s most celebrated circus Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus has staged its final performance in New York. (Julie Jacobson / AP)

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Updated on May 22, 2017 3:37 PM

Gymnast Tatiana Tchalabaev performs during the last show at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. (Lucas Jackson / REUTERS)

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Animal trainers Hans and Mary Klose perform during the last show. The Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus that has vowed crowds for 146 years with its ‘Greatest Show on Earth’. (Lucas Jackson / REUTERS)

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Members of the King Charles Troupe perform during a show. Ringling’s parent company, Feld Entertainment, announced in January it would close the production, citing declining attendance and high operating costs. (Lucas Jackson / REUTERS)

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Former employees embrace in front of a trailer before watching the last show . (Lucas Jackson / REUTERS)

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Big cat trainer Alexander Lacey performs. Animal rights campaigners - who had been accusing the Ringling Bros of animal abuse - have welcomed the decision to shut the company. (Lucas Jackson / REUTERS)

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Members of PETA - People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals picket on the final day of the Ringling Bros Barnum and Bailey Circus. (Bruce Bennett / AFP)

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Alexander Lacey of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus performs with a lion during their final farewell performance. (TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP)

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Performers from the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus stage their final farewell . (TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP)

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Trapeze artists perform on the final day. (Bruce Bennett / AFP)

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Clown Bello Nock watches a show on the last day . (Lucas Jackson / REUTERS)

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Ringmaster Jonathan Lee Iverson performs on the final day of the Ringling Bros Barnum and Bailey Circus. (Bruce Bennett / AFP)

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Davis Vassallo, center, hugs a member of the trapeze troupe as he holds his daughter Adriana after the final show. (Julie Jacobson / AP)

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Foreign performers without new jobs will lose their work visas shortly after the final show, and the Felds are covering plane tickets and reimbursing mileage for road trips home. (Julie Jacobson / AP)