Vegas’ Ultimate Date Night has its Own Anniversary: Cirque du Soleil Celebrates 30 Years

In 2023, the game changing troupe that redefined ‘circus’ and became every couple’s must-do evening on the town in Las Vegas celebrates three decades in the city that put it on the global entertainment map.

Cirque du Soleil started it all in Sin City in 1993, with the high-energy acrobatics and evocative choreography of Mystere at Treasure Island Hotel & Casino. Since then, Mystere has been seen by over 17 million fans over more than 13,000 performances.

And that’s not the only milestone the Montreal-based company is celebrating in Las Vegas in 2023.

“O’s” aquatic brilliance has been resident at the Bellagio Resort & Casino for 25 years. Its show of spectacular swimming feats performed by a number of Olympic athletes is a perennial favorite on the Strip. Since 1998, “O” has been played over 11,000 times for more than 18 million fans, who never tire of the show’s performers’ 60-foot-high dives into a 1.5 million-gallon pool, taking the excitement to new heights night after night.

And Michael Jackson ONE has been playing at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino for a decade. The Cirque show inspired by the King of Pop combines dynamic acrobatics, dance, mesmerizing visuals and a state-of-the-art surround-sound theater immersing audiences into Jackson's iconic discography. It’s already been seen by over 5 million visitors to Las Vegas.

The former senior executive with Mirage Resorts and MGM Resorts who was a key figure in introducing Cirque du Soleil to Las Vegas and said the impact of Cirque du Soleil has “forever changed what visitors expect from Las Vegas entertainment.”

Bobby Baldwin says Cirque du Soleil is now part of Las Vegas history. 'There was never a question they would create a special entertainment experience, even for Las Vegas, where the bar is quite high. What they did was immediately change the entertainment landscape of the city. And then Cirque du Soleil did it again. And then again. And I don't doubt they will continue to do so for decades to come.”

Who could have imagined the staying power of the wonders of Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas? When the troupe that has spawned a slew of imitators created its first permanent Las Vegas production three decades ago, founder Guy Laliberte said his fledgling human circus troupe wanted to 'grow a flower in the desert.' Thirty years later, Cirque du Soleil has blossomed into an evergreen fixture on the Las Vegas circuit.