Roy of Superior Art Creations (Old): Cirque du Soleil Special Events and Performances

This article is part of my Cirque du Soleil Information Primer Articles Series.

Other Performances of the Cirque

	June 15 to June 17, 1995 - 21th G7 Summit in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1995 Cirque du Soleil did a special performance at the request of the Canadian Government.
	1997 - Royal Variety Performances, including the December 1997 edition in conjunction with Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip's Golden Wedding Anniversary. watch video (10 min) of the Royal Variety Performance
	March 24, 2002 - Cirque du Soleil performs at the awards show for the 74th Academy Awards (Oscars) at the old Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood (Los Angeles, California)(2002-03-24) watch full video (5 min)
	June 16, 2004 - Cirque du Soleil set a new record for the Guinness Book of World Records when they gathered 544 employees in the Montreal Headquarters and had them stilts walking at the same place, at the same time. watch the video about this
	July 11, 2004 - Soleil de Minuit/Midnight Sun (2004-07-11). Cirque du Soleil celebrates its 20th birthday with the people of Montreal in the streets of their hometown and location of their corporate headquarters. Buy the DVD Soleil du Minuit is French and translates to English “Midnight Sun”. Although it was not exactly midnight when Cirque du Soleil performed their one-time special 20^th anniversary show in the streets of Montreal where Cirque has its head quarters; but it was already dark when the show reached its climax. The “Sun” represents the Cirque itself, the Cirque du Soleil or the Circus of the Sun.
	28. October, 2004 - Zink Magazine November, 2004 Issue Celebration With Artists From the Cirque Du Soleil show Zumanity (10/28/2004) watch 4:11 min video excerpt
	November 10, 2004 - Cirque du Soleil & the Pope - the troupe of Saltimbanco visited the Vatican and Pope John-Paul II. Special performance in front of over 6,000 spectators.
	June 15, 2005 - "Reflections in Blue" (Réflexions de bleu), a unique one-night water show as part of the opening ceremonies for the XI. World Aquatics Championships (FINA) in Montreal, Canada (2005-07-16). watch video (10 min) (not the whole show)
	December 2005 - A Taste of Cirque du Soleil - a 30 minutes long performance, featuring three acrobatic performances and characters from Cirque du Soleil, was presented twice per cruise on Celebrity's cruise ships "Constellation" and "Summit" in the Celebrity Theatre. Discontinued for unknown reason. Date of last performance: unknown. watch 21 seconds video (that is all that I got :()
	May 2006 - 2006 TV Week Logie Awards - Cirque du Soleil at the 2006 Logies in Australia performed a selection of highlights from their past visits, including Saltimbanco, Alegría and Quidam, plus a sneak preview of their (at the time) upcoming Australian tour of Varekai. watch video (4:02 min)
	May 19, 2006 - World Food Programme - The cast of the Cirque show "Alegria" performed on Friday, May 19, 2006 a special performance for the WFP - World Food Program's launch of their campaign "Fight Hunger: Walk the World" at the Tempio di Venere, which is located near the Roman Coliseum in Rome, Italy.
	July 29, 2006 - World Out-games 2006 - Cirque du Soleil performs the Hand in Hand Act. The opening ceremonies for the 1st World Out-games with 30,000 spectators was held in Montreal's Olympic stadium on Saturday night July 29, 2006. The Out-games, also known as the Gay Olympics were held between July 29 and August 5, 2006 and are not exclusive to gays though. Some 12,000 participants from over 100 countries took part in 35 athletic events. (07/29/2006). watch full video (9 min)
	September 1, 2006 IFA 2006 Opening Gala - Cirque du Soleil as the new the marketing partner of IFA 2006 (Internationale Funk Ausstellung) presents exclusive show acts of the Special Event Department Montreal at the IFA Opening Gala in Berlin, Germany (09/01/2006) The event organizers told me that no cameras were allowed for the gala and that no official video recordings were done either. This means that chances are slim that any video material of this performance exists at all. There are only a few photographs, which are available at my Flickr collection with Cirque du Soleil photographs.
	February 4, 2007 - Pre-Game Show at Super Bowl XLI (41.), the American football game to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 2006 season at Dolphin Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Indianapolis Colts (16-4) defeated the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Chicago Bears (15-4), 29-17. This performance was produced by David Saltz (2007-02-04) watch full video (9 min)
	February 2007 - NBA All-Stars 2007 Half-time show by some members of the cast of Cirque du Soleil's "KA" in Las Vegas, Nevada. watch full video
	May 12, 2007 - The rock band Apocalyptica gave a special performance for the Eurovision song contest on May 12, 2007 in in Helsinki, Finland. The show included some elaborate circus performances as well. Involved were Antti Suniala and other circus artists, such as the finnish circus Sirkus Sorin. I was also pretty sure that I recognized Oleg Ouchakov & Tatiana Gousarova from Cirque du Soleil in the video (Banquine Act, Quidam, Varekai, Fire Within, Journey of Man), but are not 100% sure anymore. watch full video (8:21 min)
	August 4th, 2007 - CHU Sainte-Justine Centennial Feast 2007 - The CHU Sainte-Justine Mother and Child University Hospital Center of the University of Montreal, Quebec (Canada) celebrated in 2007 their 100th Anniversary. Part of the festivities was the Great Centennial Fair on August 4th, 2007 at the Jean-de-Brébeuf Collège. (08/04/2007). watch video (7:37 min) (Hoops and Aerial Straps segments only)
	August 28, 2007 - Surprise Cirque du Soleil performance for the the Grand Opening show of the Venetian Macao Resort Hotel in Macau, China by the Las Vegas Sands corporation (Sheldon Adelson) (2007-08-28). watch 1 min video excerpt
	September 25, 2007 - Cirque du Soleil's contortionists, Natasha Patterson, 10, born in San Francisco, Julie Bergez, 14, from France and Dasha Sovik, 15, from Russia, who perform in KOOZA, set a new Guinness World Record™ for the Highest Circus Act ever performed at the top of Toronto's CN Tower, the World's Tallest Freestanding Tower. This feat was performed in the Glass Floor observation deck, 342 meters (1,122 feet) above the ground and as high up on Toronto's CN Tower. more ... Watch full video of this performance.
	29 January, 2008 - UMW Re-Brands, Unveils New Identity - United Motor Works (UMW Holdings Berhad), a Malaysian Business in Automotive, Equipment, Manufacturing & Engineering and Oil & Gas unveiled their new identity in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The show included an extensive performance by the performers of Cirque du Soleil's Alegria touring show (01/29/2008). watch full video (26 min)
	February 10th, 2008 - Cirque du Soleil's tribute to The Beatles ”A Day In The Life” and Carol Woods & Timmy Mitchums (from "Across the Universe") performance of "Let It Be" at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, California (2008-02-10). The performance featured acts from the Cirque show “The Beatles – Love”, which is performed at the “Mirage” hotel and casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. watch full video (7:45 min)
	Summer 2008 - Expo 2008 in Zaragoza, Spain - Cirque du Soleil performed during the day-parade, called "Awakening of the Serpent", for the "Water" Expo 2008 in public at the city of Zaragoza in Spain, Europe. Videos of the performance (multiple parts) Part 1a (2:38 min)Part 1b (6:01 min)Part 2 (3:07 min) Part 3 (3:06 min)Part 4 (2:41 min)Part 5 (2:45 min)
	September 24, 2008 - In celebration of Zumanity's 5th anniversary. Chelsea Handler from The Chelsea Lately interviews one of the stars from the hit Vegas Cirque Du Soleil Show Zumanity, Alan Silva. He does some hanging acrobatic aerial silk work and gives a great interview! watch Video of Performance & Interview (6:11 min)
	October 17-19, 2008 - 400th Anniversary of Québec, Canada - Cirque du Soleil created a special show for this anniversary, which was performed 5 times on three days at the Colisée Pepsi in Québec City. Watch excerpts of the performance 8 min video
	November 7, 9 & 16, 2008 - A Choreographers' Showcase - The Nevada Ballet Theatre and Cirque du Soleil joint venture project - A Project Designed to Stimulate and Encourage Artistic Growth, Debut in 2007, Performances at the Mystère™ Theatre at Treasure Island, Las Vegas, Nevada, Friday, November 7th, 2008; Sunday, November 9th and 16th, 2008 watch 3:09 minutes Video (excerpt only)
	November 7-9, Festival of the Masters at WDW (Walt Disney World) in Orlando, FL - Live Entertainment by performers from Cirque du Soleil La Nouba.
	November 12, 2008, Wednesday Night Affair: An Evening au Cirque, 5–7 p.m. - The Mandalay Bay ballroom - A special performance for the SEG (Society of Exploration Geophysicists) conference by artists from Cirque du Soleil's Mystère show. Las Vegas: November 11-16, 2008 (Set)
	December 5, 2008 - "La Notte Bianca" - festival and street performances in Lecce, Italy. An almost 1 hour long special one-time performance by Cirque du Soleil during this ancient and annually celebrated event, in Italy, Europe. watch 28 minutes Video (excerpt with redone audio)
	2008-09 - The Fox Network New Year's Eve special was broadcast on Wednesday, December 31st at 11:00 P.M. - 12:30 A.M. ET live from Las Vegas and presented segments with special interviews and a behind-the-scenes look at three of Cirque du Soleil's Las Vegas shows; "Zumanity, The Sensual Side of Cirque du Soleil", "The Beatles LOVE" and "CRISS ANGEL Believe".
	December 31, 2008 - Special New Years Eve performance by Cirque du Soleil's La Nouba for WDW New Years Party
	2009-05-15 - A special performance by Cirque du Soleil on May 15, 2009 for the Eurovision 2009 Song Contest (the largest contest of this kind in Europe) Second Semi-Finals Gala show in Moscow, Russia. watch 6 minutes Video -watch entire 2 hours program
	2009-06-13 - The cast of Cirque du Soleil's Macao show Zaia performs at the opening ceremony of the 10th International Indian Film Awards, IIFA (dubbed “Bollywood Awards”) on June 13, 2009 (broadcast on July 5, 2009) in Macao, China (Green Carpet Special) watch 3:32 min video
	June 16, 2009 - Cirque du Soleil is determined to re-capture their Guinness Book world record from 2004 that was taken away from them and beat the current record of 625 people stilt walking at the same time and place. more ... watch 1:34 min video -watch 0:34 min video
	June 19, 2009 - Cirque du Soleil's "O" was featured in the Discovery Channel TV show "Time Warp" with hosts MIT's Jeff Lieberman & Matt Kearney. The episode is called "Las Vegas Warped" and featured next to Cirque's show "O" some juggling by Penn Teller. "Time Warp" basically captures things in "slow motion", which is very interesting in many cases, especially if the events are typically fast paste in real-life. watch 6:34 min video
	June 29, 2009 - Cirque du Soleil participated with some performers from their touring show "Ovo" at the Gay Pride Parade 2009 in Toronto Canada. watch 1:11 min video
	2009-2013 - Cirque du Soleil - Les Chemins Invisibles (The Invisible Paths) a 70 minutes long special show on multiple stages in parallel to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the circus. Performed in Quebec City for 5 years, between 2009 and 2013. In 2009 was shown Wednesday to Sunday between June 24 and September 7, 2009. Next to the main stage are performances happening on the "Tribue des Brumes", "Tribue des Brasiers", "Tribue des Sables" and "Tribue des Embarrassants".
	October 9th, 2009 at 20:00 EDT in Montreal. "Moving Stars and Earth for Water Event" demonstrating their commitment to water and pay tribute to this vitally important natural resource. This event was part of Cirque du Soleil's "Poetic Social Mission" for the One Drop Foundation, which tries to raise awareness about the fresh water problems on this planet. More information about this initiative can be found at OneDrop.org watch part 1 - 4:34 min video watch part 2 - 7:46 min video watch part 3 - 3:28 min video watch part 4 - 3:32 min video
	2010 - Cirque will co-create the Canada Pavilion in association with the Government of Canada at Expo 2010 in Shanghai, China

Note: The Cirque did more special performances than I listed here. I learn about other performances every now and then and update my list. Nobody else seems to keep a record of this, including the Cirque itself.

Las Vegas has the lion share of resident shows and that will not change in the future. Two more shows who will call "Sin City" their home are in the making and add to the FIVE resident shows Las Vegas has already today. The Cirque will also continue to create smaller scale one-time events in the years to come. Okay, here are the details for what is known today already.

TV Promotions

Ongoing - TV Appearances - Acts of Cirque du Soleil shows appear frequently on television all over the world to promote their resident and touring shows. Here are some examples.