The ''Magic Circus Show'' was an entertainment show organised by the

European Broadcasting Union The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; french: Union européenne de radio-télévision, links=no, UER) is an alliance of public service media organisations whose countries are within the European Broadcasting Area or who are members of the Co ...

(EBU) and host broadcaster

Radio Télévision Suisse Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...

(RTS), which took place in 2010, 2011 and 2012. Children aged between seven and fourteen representing eight countries within the EBU membership area, performed a variety of circus acts at the
Geneva Christmas Circus
' (french: Cirque de Noël Genève). The main show was also accompanied by the ''Magic Circus Show Orchestra''. The programme was recorded at the end of November each year in the tent of Circus Pajazzo in

Chêne-Bougeries Chêne-Bougeries is a municipality in the Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. History Chêne-Bougeries is first mentioned in 1270 as ''Quercus''. In 1801 it was mentioned as ''Chêne-les-Bougeries''. Chêne-Bougeries was inhabited for most of its hi ...

, a town just outside

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situ ...

in Switzerland.

History

The idea to make a magic circus show, where circus acts are performed by children, belongs to the Swiss national television and radio company RTS and Damien Ottet, who is the executive producer of 7 Street Productions and the director of children's programs for RTS. They presented the idea of holding a contest at the Eurovision TV congress, and the European Broadcasting Union responded to their proposal. The event was officially launched by the EBU on 5 October 2010 at

MIPCOM MIPCOM (Marché International des Programmes de Communication, English: International Market of Communications Programmes) is an annual trade show held in the French town of Cannes, traditionally in the month of October and running for 4 days. I ...

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The ci ...

, France.

Editions

In contrast to the other Eurovision programs, the ''Magic Circus Show'' was not a competition but a gala show and is recorded in advance and broadcast in the participating countries during the Christmas season.

2010

The ''2010 Magic Circus Show'' was held on 26 November with six countries participating: Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, France and the hosts Switzerland.

2011

The ''2011 Magic Circus Show'' took place on 26 November. Ukraine participated for the first time, so there were seven countries in total.

2012

The ''2012 Magic Circus Show'' took place on 17 November. Nine countries participated. Bulgaria, Armenia and Ireland joined the show, however Ukraine decided to withdraw. This was the last edition of the ''Magic Circus Show''.

Participation

Listed are all the countries that have ever taken part alongside the year in which they made their debut:

Hosting

Most of the expense of the contest is covered by commercial sponsors and contributions from the other participating nations. The contest is considered to be a unique opportunity for promoting the host country as a tourist destination. The table below shows a list of cities and venues that have hosted ''Magic Circus Show'', one or more times.

Broadcast

The following broadcasters participated at least once: * ( ARMTV) * ( VRT) * (

BNT The Bulgarian National Television ( Bulgarian: Българска национална телевизия, ''Balgarska natsionalna televizia'') or BNT (БНТ), stylized as ·Б·Н·Т· since 2018, is a public television broadcaster of Bulgar ...

) * (

France 3 France 3 () is a French free-to-air public television channel and part of the France Télévisions group, which also includes France 2, France 4, France 5 and France Info. It is made up of a network of regional television services prov ...

) * (

RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the national broadcaster of Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, while ...

) * (

TROS Tros or TROS may refer to: * 18281 Tros Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19 * one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwan ...

) * ( RTP) * ( RTR) * (

RTS RTS may refer to: Medicine * Rape trauma syndrome, the psychological trauma experienced by a rape victim * Revised Trauma Score, a system to evaluate injuries secondary to violent trauma * Rubinstein–Taybi syndrome, a condition characterized ...

) * (

NTU Ntu is a village in Nagaland, India. NTU may stand for: * National Taxpayers Union, a nonprofit organization in the United States * National Team Unity, a political party in Trinidad and Tobago * National Television Company of Ukraine, a Ukrainian ...

) The broadcasting rights for the inaugural show in 2010 were acquired by Belarus ( BTRC), Italy ( RAI), Slovenia ( RTVSLO),

TV5 Québec Canada TV5 Québec Canada (abbreviated to TV5) is a Canadian French-language specialty channel that focuses primarily on programming from international French-speaking broadcasters. The channel shares a broadcast licence with its sister network, Unis, a ...

and international francophone network,

TV5Monde TV5Monde (), formerly known as TV5, is a French public television network, broadcasting several channels of French-language programming. It is an approved participant member of the European Broadcasting Union. The network is available across ...

References

External links

EBU Press Release
{{European Broadcasting Union Variety shows Television magic shows

Circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and uni ...

Entertainment events in Switzerland Television shows set in Switzerland Recurring events established in 2010 Recurring events disestablished in 2013 2010 in Switzerland 2011 in Switzerland 2012 in Switzerland Events in Geneva November 2010 events in Europe November 2011 events in Europe November 2012 events in Europe