Cirque du Soleil sees ‘much more’ momentum than expected after blistering two years
Cirque du Soleil has seen “much more” post-lockdown momentum than expected, the executive vice chair of the circus group has said, after revenues collapsed amid pandemic restrictions.
Revenue plummeted from $1bn to zero in just 48 hours, Daniel Lamarre said, as Cirque returns to London this week – with a show at the Royal Albert Hall on Wednesday.
“I never thought in my life that within 48 hours, I [would go] from a billion dollars… of revenue to zero revenue, and there were people saying that the debt was too high and this and that,” he told the Financial Times.
“The reality is when you have no revenue, it doesn’t matter what your debt is: you have no money. Period. Full stop.”
The circus group went into 2020 with $900m of debt already on its shoulders, a hangover from the TPG-led buyout in 2015.
Though Cirque had plans to whittle this down, with forecast annual revenues of $1bn and a potential sale or initial public offering to secure the extra capital, before the pandemic left the circus group fighting for survival.
“All the touring shows are down, but if Vegas remains open, we’re OK,” Lamarre reassured his wife in March 2020.
All non-essential businesses were closed the next day. Less than a week later, the executive had to cut Cirque’s staff by 95 per cent, letting go most of its 4,679-strong workforce via video call.
After a blistering, nearly two years for theatre, the circus group has started to reap the rewards of pent-up demand – with customers and venues alike, ready and waiting.
“I don’t have to rebuild the momentum. The momentum is there. And much more than I expected,” he added. “Not only the momentum of the public buying tickets, but the momentum of saying we want to be associated with Cirque du Soleil.”