MONTREAL (AFP) — Canadian acrobatic troupe Cirque du Soleil, created in 1984 and now performing in all corners of the world, is celebrating its silver anniversary with the launch of its 25th show "Ovo," about insects.

The circus company, with 19 traveling and permanent shows now playing, sold 11 million tickets worldwide last year and has brought wonder and delight to almost 90 million spectators in over 200 cities on five continents since 1984.

What started as a ragtag group of 20 street performers has blossomed into a global entertainment empire with an estimated net worth of three billion dollars and 4,000 employees in 40 countries.

Founded by former fire-eater Guy Laliberte, whose idea to transform circus acrobatics into sensational, plot-driven theatre has revolutionized this sector of the entertainment industry, it has however always remained true to its root

The performers originate from n...

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Ocean City, Maryland city council passed a resolution limiting it's boardwalk buskers and street performers to two pitches "so everybody can co-exist a little bit better", said Mayor Rick Meehan. The performers lobbied against the the ordinance which would keep them away from store-fronts and benches.

In a written statement that was evidently read to the council, "If it is the intention of the council to eliminate street performing, then I urge them to pass this new ordinance", said busker Alexander Osborn whose reverse-psychology probably didn't help.

The law was passed unanimously by council members. The boardwalk is a well-known beach hangout and visited by over 2.4 million tourists a year. The performers were successful in making one change, however. They can...

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Almost 100 street performers and buskers auditioned for 3 minutes each for a spot in this summer's Grate Performances series in the Big Apple's Duffy square.

Billed as the "crossroads of the world", the Times Square Alliance events are scheduled to start May 28th.

Sadly, New York City performers are usually restricted to performing underground in the city's dark and dirty subway system. This time, however, they were allowed to perform in the sunshine and be viewed by the general public.

Revealing some fresh faces, there were some old familiar ones with even the Naked Cowboy "butting" in.

See a Daily News video here.

Seems some in Hertford are busy using their heads for something other than hat-racks these days. The East Herts Council has applied to let buskers perform outside a Maidenhead Street site. Street performers may soon be able to entertain at a pitch formerly known as the Woolworths store. The application allows for "performance of plays, live music, recorded music performances of dance, and anything of a similar description to live and recorded music and dance. Interested parties or responsible authorities may make representations in writing to East Herts Council by May 26."

A new coffee-table book for lovers of Venice Beach Street Performers has just been released.

In case you don't know, Venice Beach is the second most visited tourist area in Southern California with Disneyland being the first.

The writers of the book evidently found a guy who passed the 30 year mark. He was performing when most of today's self-proclaimed "king of the street performers" were still in diapers.

Also included is a humorous story from Mad Chad Taylor on how he first started juggling chainsaws thanks to some goofy commercial maker.

The book includes some killer photos...

Check it out