figueres circus festival

Being the European capital of Circus Arts 5 days a year seems not to be enough for the Catalan city of Figueres (near the Costa Brava and the French border). On Monday, in a press conference that took place a week after the 4th edition of the city's International Circus Festival, Mayor Marta Felip and Festival Director Genís Matabosch announced a plan to become the Word Circus Capital by 2018. Figueres is already working on the project, which will coincide with the 250th anniversary of the arrival of the circus in Spain. A City of Circus is to be created, a very ambitious project that will host - among others draws - a museum, a high-performance centre for international artists and a permanent big top with a resident show every half-year.

The 4^th edition of the Figueres International Circus Festival has met all expectations and broken its previous record with more than 30,000 tickets sold. The festival ended last Monday and took place in the Catalan city of Figueres (near the Costa Brava and the French border), which is Salvador Dalí's home town. The National Circus of Pyongyang won the Dalí Golden Elephant for its trapeze performance, pulling off a double quadruple somersault for the first time in Spain. The other Golden Elephant, according to the public, went to the Russian company Troupe Trushin for its acrobatic jumping show ‘Watch Dogs’. Figueres has now consolidated itself as the second European city of reference for the circus world, only after Montecarlo.

The 2015 edition of the Figueres Circus Festival, in the north-eastern part of Catalonia near the French border, will break all records. The festival will be held from Thursday, 26 February to Monday, 2 March. This edition will feature 24 previously unseen performances in Europe by more than 80 artists from 17 different countries, thanks to the incorporation of new countries such as Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Uzbekistan. Another novelty is the inclusion of air performances, so the event will use a big top without columns for the first time, allowing the public to enjoy a 360º view. One of the main air shows will be offered by the North Korean Pyongyang National Circus. Some 30,000 tickets have gone on sale, but the event will offer some free cultural activities too.