The Latest: Circus owner says final show is a 'celebration'
UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) - The Latest on the closing of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus (all times local):
2:55 p.m.
The owner of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus says Sunday's final shows are "a celebration."
Feld Entertainment's Kenneth Feld said Sunday that while he is melancholy about closing the production, he feels the performers are energized to "go out on top."
He said the most difficult moment came when he and his family had to tell the performers in January.
Feld said they all have to "embrace change" and there is a love for the circus "that will never die."
Feld's father and uncle bought the circus in 1967. It was sold to Mattel in 1971, but the Feld family continued to manage the shows. The Felds bought the circus back in 1982.
The final three shows are Sunday in Uniondale, New York, outside of New York City.
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11:45 a.m.
The Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus that has wowed crowds for 146 years with its "Greatest Show on Earth" is taking its final bow.
The circus' last show of three scheduled Sunday at the Nassau County Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, is sold out. Fans
Ringling's parent company, Feld Entertainment, announced in January it would close the production, citing declining attendance and high operating costs.
Animal rights activists had targeted the circus, saying that forcing animals to perform and transporting them around the country amounted to abuse. And in May 2016, the company removed elephants from its shows, but ticket sales continued to decline.