Copyright Hartford Courant
The revamped Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus returns to Connecticut in April 2026 for seven performances April 16-19 at Total Mortgage Arena in Bridgeport and seven more April 23-26 at Hartford’s PeoplesBank Arena. This is a new version of the circus which was revived in 2023 by Feld Entertainment seven years after the same company announced that it had closed the operation. With its name now shorthanded as Ringling, the circus returned in a new format with multiple hosts replacing the traditional ringmaster, no animal acts besides a robotic dog and a move away from old-fashioned garishly made-up clowns. The 2026 edition, called the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Presents The Greatest Show On Earth tour, has been rethought again. Promotional materials for the tour suggest that there is more live music, a new preshow act called Ringling Hype Crew, the acrobatic Acro-Salsa Troupe from Colombia, the Ringling debut of the internationally known contortionist named Contortion and an acrobatic bicycle and hoop diving act from China, among many other acts. Bailey the Robo Pup is still featured, as is a giant projection screen that offers close-up looks at the performers. The touring company includes 65 performers from 17 different countries, some of whom are performing in the United States for the first time. The modern American circus was pioneered by Bethel native P.T. Barnum, who in the mid- to late 1800s served in the Connecticut General Assembly and was mayor of Bridgeport. Barnum & Bailey’s Greatest Show on Earth officially merged with the country’s other largest circus Ringling Bros. World’s Greatest Shows in 1919. The Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus closed in 2017 after nearly a century of touring under that name, and decades more as its separate entities. The circus was brought back in 2023 on a tour which also included stops in Hartford and Bridgeport. PeoplesBank Arena is the newly renovated venue formerly known at the XL Center at 1 Civic Center Plaza in Hartford. The circus performs at PeoplesBank Arena on April 23 and 24 at 7 p.m., April 25 at 11 a.m., 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. and April 26 at noon and 4 p.m. The Bridgeport shows are on April 16 and 17 at 7 p.m., April 18 at 11 a.m., 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. and April 19 at noon and 4 p.m.
