Funded by the European Commission, the European Union has delivered an important report on the growth of the circus sector called The situation of circus in the EU Member States.You may recall how in January of 2019 we published an open letter about the situation of circus study from Verena Cornwall, a contributor to the project, in which she asked for professionals and organizations from the EU to complete the circus census survey.

Writer Adele Redmond summarizes the 128 pages of findings in her recent investigative article at Arts Professional UK. Redmond’s recap includes some surprising research finds, stating that “Circus organisations across Europe have doubled in number over the past two decades while “not taking full advantage of the funding opportunities that are available,” according to a new report from the European Commission.” The report details some damning evidence about funding information, stating that the circus sector is “severely lacking knowledge” about funding opportunities available to them. Redmond says that “A survey of more than 270 circus organisations found that in 2018, more than 80% did not apply for European Union (EU) funding, more than half didn’t pursue national or regional funding sources, and 45% did not apply for local funding.” This lack of funding research and application on behalf of EU circus companies begs the ques...