New Big Top For Cirque Du Soleil

Cirque du Soleil raises its new white and gold Big Top in preparation of the Toronto Opening Night of LUZIA!

To mark the arrival of Cirque du Soleil’s latest soul-touching production LUZIA in Toronto, a newly-designed, massive white and gold Big Top will be raised on July 21 at Toronto Port Lands. Sixty men and women will be pushing more than 100 supporting poles to raise the canvas to its final position for the July 28 Toronto premiere.

A newly designed white and gold Big Top LUZIA marks the first time Cirque du Soleil presents a production under a Big Top featuring printed patterns directly related to the theme of the show. The patterns evoke the association between Cirque du Soleil (the sun) and Mexico (the word originates from Mtztli, meaning ‘moon’, and Xuctli which means ‘middle’) and symbolize the meeting of two celestial bodies: the sun and the moon. A bird’s eye view reveals the path of the stars that spiral out from the centre of the Big Top – the symbolic meeting point between earth and sky, sacred and human.

A few facts about the LUZIA Big Top and the Cirque du Soleil village:

• The Big Top seats more than 2,600 people.
• The entire site set-up takes 8 days. This includes installation of the Big Top, the entrance tent, the VIP tent and the rehearsal spaces.
• The Big Top stands at 19 meters (62 feet) high and is 51 meters (167 feet) in diameter.
• The 4 steel masts each stand at 25 meters (82 feet) tall.
• 550 pegs are required to hold the big top firmly to 48,500 square feet of asphalt.
• The Big Top can withstand winds up to 120 km/h (75 mph).
• The light-coloured canvas helps counter the effects of the sun, thereby reducing energy consumption and minimizing greenhouse gas emissions.
• LUZIA travels via 65 trailer trucks carrying close to 2,000 tons of equipment.

LUZIA, an acrobatic waking dream of Mexico, opens in Toronto on July 28 for a limited engagement through October 16. For more information, visit www.cirquedusoleil.com/luzia.

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