Cirque du Soleil

The Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group, commonly known as Cirque du Soleil (French: [siʁk dy sɔ'lɛj], Canadian French: [sɪʁk d͡zy sɔ'lɛj]; French for 'Circus of the Sun'), is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Headquartered in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, Montreal, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 June 1984 by former street performers Guy Laliberté and Gilles Ste-Croix.

Originating as a performing troupe called Les Échassiers (IPA: [lez‿eʃas'je]; "The Stilt Walkers"), they toured Quebec in various forms between 1979 and 1983. Their initial financial hardship was relieved in 1983 by a government grant from the Canada Council for the Arts to perform as part of the 450th anniversary celebrations of Jacques Cartier's voyage to Canada. Their first official production Le Grand Tour du Cirque du Soleil was a success in 1984, and after securing a second year of funding, Laliberté hired Guy Caron from the National Circus School to recreate it as a "proper circus". Its theatrical, character-driven approach and the absence of performing animals helped define Cirque du Soleil as the contemporary circus ("nouveau cirque") that it remains today.

After financial successes and failures in the late 1980s, Nouvelle Expérience was created—with the direction of Franco Dragone—which not only made Cirque du Soleil profitable by 1990, but allowed it to create new shows. It expanded rapidly through the 1990s and 2000s, growing from one production to dozens of shows in over 300 cities on six continents. In 2017, the company employed 4,900 people from 50 countries and took in about US$1 billion. Several permanent Las Vegas shows alone play to more than 9,000 people a night, 5% of the city's visitors, adding to the over 100 million people who have seen Cirque du Soleil productions worldwide.

In 2000, Laliberté bought out Daniel Gauthier's stake in the company, and with 95% ownership continued to expand the brand. In 2008, Laliberté sold 20% of his share to the investment groups Istithmar World and Nakheel of Dubai, but bought back the stake after the 2008 financial crisis. In 2015, TPG Capital, Fosun Industrial Holdings, and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec purchased 90% of Cirque du Soleil while Laliberté retained a 10% stake in the company. In February 2020, Laliberté sold his remaining 10% stake in the company to Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec for $75 million. The company declared bankruptcy amid the COVID-19 pandemic and was sold in November 2020 to a group of its creditors led by Catalyst Capital Group.

The company's creations have received numerous prizes and distinctions, including three Drama Desk Awards; seven Primetime Emmy Awards; multiple Gemini Awards; a Daytime Emmy Award; a Juno Award; and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2000, Cirque du Soleil was awarded the National Arts Centre Award, a companion award of the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards, and in 2002 was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame.