ECA INFORMATION LETTER. September 2018

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1 ECA INFORMATION LETTER September 2018 CULTURE First evaluations for the Big Top Label MEP Istvan Ujhelyi and his team have completed the first field work for of the planned quality assurance system Big Top Label. Three circuses, Arlette Gruss in France, Blackpool Tower in England and Krone in Germany, have been visited by a member of Mr. Ujhelyi s cabinet and evaluated according to a pre-agreed questionnaire. The results have been shared with the experts committee and agreed. A ceremony of the 250 years of circus jubilee was planned in the European Parliament in Brussels as the setting of the first Big Top Label awards. This ceremony, however, had to be postponed due to technical problems with the agenda. We will inform all members of the ECA as soon as a new date is found. New initiative in Central Eastern Europe Péter Fekete, State Secretary for Culture in Hungary and member of the ECA Executive Board, announced a major success for the circus arts. On 29 June 2018, the 28th V4 Ministerial Meeting was held in Hungary, 1

2 attended by Péter Fekete, Ľubica Laššáková, Minister of Culture of Slovakia, Petra Smolíková, Deputy Minister of Culture of the Czech Republic, and Paweł Lewandowski, Deputy Minister of Culture of Poland. The Visegrád Four (V4) countries formulated a new goal for the renewal of circus art and expressed their support for the regional central role of the circus art center in Hungary. The Central European Circus Art Center, which is scheduled to become a part of the official V4 program, can be a circus complex in the heart of Europe, an appropriate infrastructure for the renewing circus art, and will preserve the traditions of circus art. This is a major diplomatic success for the circus arts shows that the renewing circus art enjoys support from the community and the cultural government. Of course, the European Circus Association will support any initiatives that aim at preserving the cultural heritage of circus and developing its future. Cultural recognition of the circus in Germany Ever since Philip Astley created the first circus of modern times in London 250 years ago, this idea has spread quickly around the world. Not only viewers were fascinated by the ever-changing mix of acrobatics, comedy and animal training, but also many great artists in the field of visual and performing arts. For many well-known painters the circus was a welcome motive. The circus is therefore a centuries-old cultural institution. For the European Circus Association (ECA), one of the main goals is to achieve the cultural recognition that the circus deserves. In 2005, at the initiative of the ECA, the European Parliament passed by a clear majority a resolution calling for the support of the "classical circus including the presentation of animals" as part of European cultural heritage. In recent years, several countries (Netherlands, Hungary, Finland) have put circus on the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage. A conference hosted by the Kulturamt Wiesbaden at the initiative of the ECA will discuss this issue further on Saturday, 27 th October 2018 during the European Youth Circus festival. Peter Fekete, the Hungarian Secretary of State for Culture, and Circus expert Arie Oudenes from the Netherlands will talk about how their countries have succeeded in putting Circus on the UNESCO list. The corresponding application for Germany will be discussed in Wiesbaden. All forms of the circus, circus schools and circus projects should be included. No matter if big or small, traditional or "New Circus", circus is available in many different varieties. All together they provide culture for millions! This should now finally be recognized also in Germany. All members of the ECA are invited to attend this important conference. ANIMALS Germany In July, representatives of the European Circus Association were invited to meet the new German minister for Food and Agriculture, Mrs. Julia Klöckner, in Berlin. In this meeting, Mrs. Klöckner demanded changes and suggested that the circuses should voluntarily remove certain species (elephants, bears, hippos, rhinos, giraffes and monkeys). The representatives of the ECA made it clear that we believe all animals can be kept in human care as long as regulations are fulfilled. The minister agreed to discuss the issue in working groups before taking a decision. 2

3 France A new initiative in France is called La France dit oui aux cirques avec des animaux (France says yes to circus with animals). This initiative suggests the use of posters that can be interesting for other countries too: The following information we received from the French Collective of Cirques: The French government hesitated for a long time, but finally President Macron arbitrated between circuses with (wild) animals and circuses without animals, giving precise instructions: 1 / circus animals must not be questioned. 2 / the Ministry of Culture should support the traditional circus. It is at this point that the Culture has awarded a grant to the Collective of Cirques. The European Circus Association congratulates the collective with this great achievement and will support any further actions in favor of the traditional circus. ECA INTERNAL NEWS New member During the last months several circuses decided to join the European Circus Association. We are very happy to welcome Grandezza Entertainment of Germany as a new member. Among other projects, Grandezza produces the Christmas circuses in Hannover, Aachen and Regensburg every year. With this new member, the European Circus Association will be even stronger than before! 3

4 ECA Special Award in Moscow In September, the European Circus Association once again presented a special award at the 17 th International Youth Festival in the Nikulin Circus. President Urs Pilz and ECA Secretary Dirk Kuik handed over the special award to Johnny Gasser and his partners in honor of their unique work re-creating their fabulous act on the Russian Bar. International Circus Festival of Italy in Latina 2018 Fabio Montico, member of the ECA Executive Board, has invited all members to the 19 th International Circus Festival of Italy Latina This festival will be held from the 18 th to the 22 nd of October Like in the years before, the Cultural Association Giulio Montico, producer of the Festival, has decided to reserve free tickets for members of the ECA, pick-up service from and to the airport of Rome, lunch on Saturday 20 th of October 2018 in the VIP area, post-show party with refreshments on Sunday 21 st of October 2018 and some more benefits. If you are interested in coming to the Latina Festival, please have a look at the application form that we already forwarded by . Send it back completely filled up by to info@festivalcircolatina.com. 4

5 The schedule of the shows will be as follows: THU 18 th show selection A FRI 19 th show selection B SAT 20 th SUN 21 st show selection B show selection A show selection A show selection B MON 22 nd Gala Show and Awards Ceremony Monte Carlo 2019 Next month the ECA will invite its members to the 43rd International Circus Festival in Monte Carlo As always, all members of the ECA are invited to visit the festival and attend the General Members Meeting and ECA Symposium on Friday, 18 th January 2019 in Monte Carlo. This time, the Symposium will be organized in close collaboration with the Fédération Mondial du Cirque under the title Circus. Culture for Millions! Some speakers are yet to be confirmed. They will present different approaches to attract circus audiences in today s world. More information about our meetings and details about the festival in the invitation next month. ECA-SECRETARIAT Am Kuckhofsweg 15, Dormagen, Deutschland Telefon: , Fax: eca@europeancircus.eu 5