Looking back This article is more than 5 years oldLooking back: circus
This article is more than 5 years oldWe look back on Guardian coverage of the circus and its long tradition - with and without animals
27 December 1938
The Belle Vue Circus opens for Christmas: the final dress rehearsal is a free Christmas treat for children and old folks.
14 October 1960
Sea-lion from Billy Smart Circus goes missing: Fritzy the sea-lion jumps into the Thames from a boat hired to promote the circus.
17 February 1965
Welfare of circus animals debated at Westminster: the House of Lords hears evidence of cruelty in the training of animals during second reading of Performing Animals Bill.
24 May 2005
Circus legend Billy Smart Jr dies at 71.
24 March 2010
Pierrot Bidon’s Archaos, the circus that shot society in the head: they juggled chainsaws, rode motorcycles and in the process made circus almost respectable.
5 December 2014
Law to ban wild animals in UK circuses blocked by three Tory MPs.
6 June 2015
Carry on laughing - portraits of clowns.
20 January 2016
Cirque du Soleil: Amaluna 1 star review – as erotic as a wet wipe, says our critic.
18 January 2018
Chainsaw juggling, human cannonballs and Coco the Clown! The astounding 250-year story of circus.
1 April 2018
Exhibition celebrates the Englishman who created modern circus: Philip Astley will be in the centre ring for series of events marking 250th anniversary of circus.
7 May 2018
From Degas muse to modern aerialist: exhibition charts black women in circus.
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