Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey is bringing its reimagined, animal-free version of The Greatest Show on Earth to downtown Sacramento next month, with six performances scheduled at Golden 1 Center over a four-day run. The show, now built entirely around human performers rather than exotic animal acts, kicks off with a Thursday evening performance on September 17, 2026 and wraps up Sunday, September 20.
As reported by The Sacramento Bee, the show will feature circus performers, clowns, trapeze artists, acrobats and high-flying stunts, with no elephants, tigers or camels appearing anywhere on the bill. That absence isn't a creative choice so much as a legal one: California banned circuses from using animals such as elephants, tigers and camels in performances back in 2020, and the touring production has omitted those acts statewide ever since.
The state's Circus Cruelty Prevention Act, also known as SB 313, was signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom in October 2019 after being authored by then-state Sen. Ben Hueso, according to LegiScan. The statute prohibits circuses statewide from using any animals other than domestic dogs, cats and horses, and violators face civil penalties of up to $25,000 per day. California is one of a dozen states — along with more than 150 local jurisdictions nationwide — that now restrict or ban wild animals in circus acts, per the Animal Legal Defense Fund.
A Six-Year Reinvention After a 146-Year Run
The animal-free format isn't unique to California; it's now baked into Ringling's national relaunch. The circus shuttered its original, animal-based show in May 2017 after a 146-year run, citing high operating costs, declining ticket sales and persistent animal rights protests following the retirement of its elephant acts in 2016, according to Wikipedia. Parent company Feld Entertainment, which has owned the brand since 1967, spent six years retooling the show before relaunching it in September 2023 as an entirely human-only production.
The turnaround even won over one of the circus's longtime adversaries. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals endorsed the animal-free reboot in 2022 and offered to gift Ringling the web domain Circuses.com, a site PETA had maintained for decades to campaign against circus animal abuse, according to WTSP. PETA had picketed Ringling performances for 36 consecutive years before the 2017 shutdown, the station notes.
The new show also looks and moves differently than the circus of old. Ringling replaced its traditional three-ring big top with a single 360-degree arena floor stage using moveable platforms, digital camera tracking, spatial audio and live video feeds, per Tampa Bay Parenting. Gone too is the century-old circus train; performers, equipment and production gear now travel by buses and semi-trucks instead.
Sacramento's Ties to Ringling's Big-Top Past
Sacramento has a history with the circus that predates the reboot. Ringling last performed in the area in September 2016 at Sleep Train Arena, then known as ARCO Arena, which had hosted the circus since it opened in 1988 and was demolished in 2022 after that performance turned out to be its final ticketed event, according to Wikipedia. This time around, the show lands at Golden 1 Center, which opened in 2016 and can expand to seat up to 19,000 guests for non-basketball events and floor shows.
The reimagined cast draws talent from around the world. More than 65 performers were recruited through a global search spanning 17 or more countries, including Ethiopia, Mongolia, Ukraine, Argentina and Cuba, and the roster includes acrobats, high-wire walkers, trapeze artists and unicyclists.
Showtimes and Ticket Prices for the Sacramento Run
The Sacramento schedule opens with a single 7 p.m. show on Thursday, September 17, followed by another 7 p.m. performance on Friday, September 18. Saturday, September 19 brings both an 11 a.m. matinee and a 3 p.m. show, and the run closes Sunday, September 20 with a noon show and a 4 p.m. show. A Ringling Hype Crew will perform an interactive preshow 30 minutes before each performance.
Thursday's opening-show tickets start at $17.40 with a 50% discount, while tickets for the Friday, Saturday and Sunday performances start at $30.65. The closest seats can run more than $160. Adults who buy a full-price ticket can also purchase a $15 kids ticket, valid for children ages 2 through 12; toddlers and babies under 2 do not need a ticket for admission, according to Ringling. Tickets are available through the circus's website and Golden 1 Center's website.
Sacramento's stop is part of a broader national tour that has already rolled through Texas and New England this year. Hoodline previously reported on the reboot's San Antonio Alamodome stop and its earlier Houston opening at Reliant Stadium, both featuring the same global cast and 360-degree arena setup coming to Sacramento. The circus also passed through Boston's Agganis Arena earlier this year as part of the same tour. Sacramento-area circus fans have another animal-free option in the meantime, too: Circus Vargas is currently running its own big-top show at the Roseville Galleria through August 31, minus any exotic animal acts of its own.
