The German circus Roncalli is a pioneer in this 3D technique.
If we look back – specifically until the Christmas of our childhood – surely some other memory of the afternoons in which the whole family went to the circus that during those weeks had settled in our city.
It was then that we spent hours in the stands watching all kinds of animals, both exotic and pets, enter and leave the arena, from lions, elephants, camels, dogs, reptiles, parrots, monkeys to o any living being that had been trained for our purest entertainment.
As children **we were not aware not only of the mistreatment** that some of these animals suffered, but also of the captive situations that many of them lived when they should be free and not trapped in cages.
There are always equally spectacular alternatives that do not include animal abuse.
If we have always lived a situation on a recurring basis – in the case of circuses it is something we have experienced every Christmas since we can remember – it is difficult to modify the imposed model and get out of the norm. It is difficult to understand that it is something harmful to living beings that participate in the functions and that in short it is an unnecessary and avoidable act.
But fortunately, in recent decades the world of the circus has been changing and we can say that we are moving in the right direction. More and more people, associations and companies decide to dispense with representations with animals and advocate for more artistic, playful functions based on human skills.
Another type of circus is possible.
THE GREAT CONTROVERSY OF EVERY CHRISTMAS
As the years have gone by, a series of laws have emerged in Spain, both state and regional, with the intention of regulate the use of animal species in circus shows. As stated by the InfoCircos coalition (formed by the entities for the protection of animals and wildlife ANDA, AnimaNaturalis, Born Free Foundation, FAADA and AAP Primadomus): "75% of Spaniards already live in territory free of circuses with animals wild".
The The first autonomous community to reject and prohibit this type of practice was Catalonia in 2015. Followed by the Balearic Islands in July 2017, Galicia in September of the same year and Murcia in October 2017. Later, La Rioja, Aragón, Extremadura, Asturias, Navarra and the Valencian Community arrived in the following four years.
The new shows announce that we are on the right track.
And everything seems to indicate that from next year this figure will continue to increase. An example of this is that in April 2020 in the Community of Madrid the law that prohibits shows with wild animals will come into force, Therefore, these are the last Christmases that this type of circus is installed in the capital involved in controversy.
More and more users are positioning themselves in against the practices and look for alternatives less harmful, safe and ethical that guarantee the enjoyment of all without causing any harm to any living being.
“It has been scientifically and legally proven that, given their circumstances, circuses with wild animals cannot guarantee animal welfare, safety or health. Therefore these types of shows should gradually disappear for this reason”, tells Traveler.es Alberto Díez, spokesman for InfoCircos.
In the case of domestic animals, it is an ethical motivation, it does not have a scientific or legal declaration, but rather it is simply a moral opinion that depends on each person.
Each laser is connected to the main computer and is, in turn, linked to intelligence? artificial.
3D HOLOGRAMS, AN ALTERNATIVE ON THE RISE
And what measures do associations, circuses and cities propose to offer an interesting show that continue to attract a diverse audience of all ages? Numerous ideas have emerged in the last decade.
As alternatives, circuses have a wide range of possibilities to replace their animal shows with other types of displays full of entertainment. And one that is sounding strong this 2019 is the use of 3D holograms: in which the presence of all kinds of living beings is staged and imitated, from lions, giraffes, chimpanzees, tigers, zebras, panthers, horses to even some extinct animals, like mammoths or dinosaurs.
The use of 3D holograms is booming.
“Indeed, the use of holograms is one of the possibilities, but it is not the only one. In fact, the classic circus mixes circus with theater, lights and music; the ice circus uses the skills that the human being is capable of doing on an ice rink; Cirque du Solei is also very focused on a union of lights and the show based on human skills. Therefore, we agree that new possibilities can be explored and three-dimensional holograms are one of the valid options for this”, comments Alberto Díez. Without a doubt, we are facing the path that must be followed.
The great pioneer in this 3D technique was the German circus Roncalli, founded in 1976 by Bernhard Paul and which today can boast of being one of the best known in Europe.
In the middle of this 2019, his name came to the fore again and reached the international media when it was announced that he was the first circus to replace animals with 3D holograms in all of its performances. A story that went around the world like wildfire.
In 2016, Bernhard Paul had the idea of using holograms for shows. First of an initial form he was incorporating them little by little. In 2017 he hired a new Chief Digital Officer, Markus Strobl.
With a group of 15 IT experts and 3D designers, he made the holograms round and usable for the circus, investing more than 500,000 euros in this project. Nowadays, the Roncalli circus can boast of having "the highest quality technique in terms of holograms", They comment from their communication department.
After the announcement, Bernhard Paul received more than 20,000 emails and letters of thanks in just one month. In the last two years he has been the most frequented circus show in all of Europe with more than a million visitors. It seems that the change has not cost so much, right?
All this is possible thanks to a large investment in human and technological equipment that makes it possible to visualize animals in three dimensions. For his show, 11 lasers are used, a Special Roncalli-Gaze and a computer in the cloud with more than 3,000 processors.
Each laser is connected to the main computer and this is in turn linked to artificial intelligence. A complicated process that is currently only carried out in a show of this caliber from the Roncalli circus.
The holograms are round to be used in the circus.
ANIMALS IN 3D ARRIVE IN SPAIN
Thanks to initiatives such as that of this German circus company, other circuses have decided to follow in their footsteps very closely and be inspired by their performances.
Due to the fact that in Spain more and more communities have prohibited the use of wild animals for their circuses, it was time to reinvent themselves or die. **And this is what the Great Alaskan Circus has done this Christmas ** which from December 6 to January 12, 2020 will present its 3D animal performances in Valencia (South Boulevard).
It should be remembered that the city of Turia modified the law on the Protection of Companion Animals at the end of 2018, which entered into force in February 2019 in which circuses with animals were eliminated.
Despite It is the first time that a circus in Spain has carried out this technique in 3D and that there is still a long way to go to resemble the technology and precision used by Roncalli, it is a big step that more entertainment companies in the country can begin to carry out. The path has been modified, now it is only time to follow the correct direction.
Great Alaskan Circus 'The Lion King' Show.
IS A FUTURE IN WHICH CIRCUSES DO NOT USE ANIMALS VIABLE?
Without a doubt, the answer is a resounding "yes". As stated by Alberto Díez: "The conversion is not that it should start, it is that it has already begun and it is only necessary to influence and insist on it, investing more capital in these alternative programs that in a short time I hope they will be the fixed programs of the circuses”.
At the moment, more and more Autonomous Communities are influencing and fighting for the disappearance of both wild and domestic animals in circuses or in any kind of function.
And one thing that we must never forget and in which the InfoCircos spokesman Alberto Díez points out is that “entertainment should never be a justification for causing suffering both physical and psychological, neither of animals, nor of people or of breaching legislation. Entertainment as such has to adjust to the legal, cultural, economic and social parameters of the environment in which it operates”.
The lights have been present in the classic circuses and are essential in the new shows.
The good news is that For everything there is always an alternative, and this time it was not going to be less. Entertainment is a concept, not a fact. The moment a form of enjoyment is annulled, we as humans are not going to absolutely lose our capacities because other ways of living and experiencing our moments of leisure will emerge.
The world evolves and we do with it. Years ago it was impossible to live without certain things, which today we see inconceivable to carry out. Animal circuses should become one of them. Let's learn from our mistakes to follow the correct alternative without harming any living being along the way.
As Alberto Díez suggests: “The ways we have to entertain ourselves have changed over time and therefore we will continue to change as well; some forms will fall and others will appear. From this perspective, what is attempted on our part is that eliminate those in which there is suffering and in the new ones that arise, these same mistakes are not repeated”. You can say higher, but not clearer.
You have to invest in alternative entertainment programs.