Bucharest Metropolitan Circus to participate in prestigious “Salieri Circus Award” Festival in Italy

The event will take place at the Salieri Theater in Italy, from September 24-28, before the technical jury led by Eugene Chaplin, son of the great Charlie Chaplin, which will also include Ama Butoiescu, artistic director of the Bucharest Metropolitan Circus.

The troupe consisting of 10 elite artists from the Bucharest Metropolitan Circus will have the honor of performing, with artistic direction by Ama Butoiescu, the official opening act for each evening of the festival.

The prologue with which the Metropolitan Circus will open the festival is an original choreographic and acrobatic tableau inspired by the work “La Fiera di Venezia” by composer Antonio Salieri.

“For the Bucharest Metropolitan Circus, the invitation to open each evening of the 2026 Salieri International Circus Festival is a recognition that deeply honors us. From September 24-28, Romanian artists will have the privilege of kicking off the performances at one of the important events of contemporary European circus,” said Ama Butoiescu, artistic director of the Bucharest Metropolitan Circus.

The festival will grant the Metropolitan Circus global exposure. The performances of the Romanian artists will be watched not only by the Italian public and local government officials, but especially by the elite of the global industry: directors of major festivals, impresarios, international agents and scouts from the Moulin Rouge in Paris, Cirque du Soleil, The 7 Fingers or from major festivals such as those in Monte Carlo, Girona, Latina and Budapest.

Overall, this year’s “Salieri Circus Award” International Festival will feature 23 acts, created by 50 artists from 25 countries.

“This invitation validates the Metropolitan Circus’s transition to the high standards of European circus arts. We are not going there just to perform, but to demonstrate that Bucharest is a center of excellence in the new wave of contemporary circus,” said George Costin, general director of the Bucharest Metropolitan Circus.

The history of the Bucharest Metropolitan Circus began to be written back in 1954, when it was called the Romanian State Circus, and since 1961, it has operated at its headquarters on Aleea Circului, built according to the plans of architect Nicolae Porumbescu, which was declared a historical monument in 2010. In 2017, it was given the name Bucharest Metropolitan Circus.