Fijians had the opportunity to see an elephant, baboons, and lions during the Whirling Brothers Circus in 1985.
In an article in The Fiji Times on July 3, that year, it was reported that monkeys, crazy clowns, jugglers, death-defying aerialists, sword and dagger balance, whip-crackers, rope spinners and spine-tingling trapeze performers from Europe were some of the many acts that were showcased.
The people responsible for bringing the team to Fiji, Dada Promotions and Lords Jewellers, said they had planned for the tour 12 months ago.
A spokesman for the organisers, Himmat Lodhia, said the circus included Demetrius the Strong Man, among others.
“He can bend a steel bar with his teeth and blow up a normal hot water bottle as if it were a balloon,” he said.
“The team will be bringing a $25,000 tent made specially for their trip to Fiji.”
The African elephant, Jumbo, was the only performing elephant in Australasia. Jumbo was 10-years-old and weighed more than two and a half tonnes.
The team arrived on Friday, July 26 and staged their first performance at Lautoka on Wednesday, July 31.
They also staged performances at Ba, Nadi, Sigatoka, Suva and Labasa. Mr Lodhia said the team spent six weeks in Fiji and tagged more than 70 performances at these centres.
“The performances lasted two solid hours excluding intervals.”
He said most tickets cost $5 and $4, and $3 for children.
“There were also $8 tickets for the performances, but they were limited to 100 for each performance.”
