Cirque Alexandre Bouglione

What Cirque Alexandre Bouglione does

Cirque Alexandre Bouglione is a privately held, family-owned circus operator based in Brussels, Belgium, with its venue at Place Flagey in the Ixelles municipality. The company is run by the multi-generational Bouglione family and centers its commercial activity on an annual Christmas-season residency, the Grand Cirque de Noël. For the 15th anniversary edition, performances are scheduled December 12, 2026 through January 3, 2027. The audience comprises two distinct customer segments: general-public family attendees at scheduled holiday performances, and corporate or private-group buyers purchasing block tickets for events sized from 20 to 5,000 attendees. No information is available on funding, ownership structure beyond the family, or financial scale.

The core product is a live circus performance — acrobatic, aerial, and clown acts staged under a big top — supported by on-site concessions. There are no identified proprietary technology or AI components; the operational backbone is the physical venue, the troupe of performers, and a ticketing infrastructure. Revenue is generated through three channels: (i) individual ticket sales priced from approximately €10 to €50 per seat, sold online through an exclusive arrangement with Ticketmaster and at the on-site box office; (ii) corporate and group bookings at roughly €9.43 per attendee, sold directly through a B2B sales flow; and (iii) ancillary concession sales during performances. Distribution is multilingual (French, Dutch, English), and the business operates with a small full-time staff of 11–50 employees, with utilization heavily concentrated in the approximately 22-day Christmas window.

The commercial model is structurally seasonal and venue-bound. The Grand Cirque de Noël is the principal revenue driver; the corporate and group segment is positioned as a complementary stream leveraging the same physical asset. Pricing is tiered across consumer seats (€10–€50) and a uniform per-attendee corporate rate (€9.43), suggesting a yield-management approach across rather than within segments. Strategic emphasis, as evidenced by the 15th-anniversary marketing, the B2B tier, and the multilingual site, is on maximizing in-season attendance and broadening group bookings rather than on geographic or product-line expansion.

Name

Cirque Alexandre Bouglione

Legal name

Cirque Alexandre Bouglione

Website

https://alexandrebouglione.be

Company type

Private

Founded year

1955

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cirque Alexandre Bouglione is a Brussels-based, family-owned circus operating the annual Grand Cirque de Noël at Place Flagey. It serves family audiences with holiday ticketed performances and corporate clients with private group bookings of 20 to 5,000 attendees.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Live Entertainment / Circus Performances

NAICS

Performing Arts Companies (7111)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Circus, Magic & Variety Shows (THAJAFAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Circus & Physical Theatre (MPAGABAL)

Keywords

• Live circus performances
• Christmas circus shows
• Corporate event venues
• Group entertainment bookings
• Family entertainment productions

Headquarters

HQ city

Brussels

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: Primary revenue stream from ticket sales to circus performances. Tickets sold exclusively via Ticketmaster online platform with no booking fees, plus on-site box office sales one hour before each show.
2. Corporate Events & Private Bookings: Revenue from privatizing circus performances for corporate events, galas, team building, seminars, and private functions. Includes customized catering, entertainment options, and branding opportunities.
3. Group Bookings: Revenue from organized group bookings starting at 25 persons with preferential group rates. Includes end-of-year gift packages, Christmas bonuses, and souvenir options.
4. Concessions & Hospitality: Revenue from bar services and concessions within the reception tent. Chapiteau d'accueil and bar open one hour before performances.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Cirque Alexandre Bouglione produces and stages traditional live circus performances, anchored by the annual Grand Cirque de Noël at Place Flagey in Ixelles, Brussels (15th edition running December 12, 2026 to January 3, 2027). The 120-minute show features international award-winning artists performing acrobatics and circus acts under a heated big-top tent with no animals. The company also provides full or partial venue privatization, customized catering, and entertainment packages for corporate events, galas, team-building activities, and group outings of 25 to 5,000 persons.

Product overview

Cirque Alexandre Bouglione operates primarily as a live entertainment venue offering the annual Grand Cirque de Noël (Christmas Circus) as its core product—a traditional circus show featuring various performers and acts under a heated big top tent at Place Flagey in Ixelles, Brussels. The company also offers supplementary services through its Group & Events division, providing custom circus event packages for private groups and corporate clients, including venue privatization, tailored reception packages, and catering options for occasions ranging from intimate gatherings (25+ people) to large-scale corporate galas (up to 5,000 attendees). Ticket sales are managed exclusively through Ticketmaster, with no digital product or SaaS offering.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Grand Cirque de Noël: The main Christmas circus event held annually in Brussels, also referred to as Grand Brussels Christmas Circus
• Grand Brussels Christmas Circus

Products and services

• Grand Cirque de Noël (Christmas Circus) The annual flagship Christmas circus show held in Brussels at Place Flagey in Ixelles, featuring international award-winning artists performing acrobatics and circus acts under a heated big-top tent, with no animals. The 15th edition runs from December 12, 2026 to January 3, 2027 and targets families and the general public during the holiday season.
• Corporate and Group Events

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Ticketmaster BelgiumcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPrimary and exclusive online ticketing partner for all Cirque Alexandre Bouglione performances. Manages online ticket sales with no booking fees. Also handles customer ticket inquiries through [email protected].

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Cirque Arlette Gruss: French traditional family circus touring a big-top across France and Europe. Direct peer on format (tented shows, mixed animal/human acts in past, family ownership), European touring, and seasonal programming.
• Cirque d'Hiver Bouglione: The historic Parisian winter circus venue operated by the same Bouglione family. Direct family peer with identical traditional big-top format, multi-generational brand heritage, and shared talent network.
• Circus Krone: Germany's largest traditional circus, operating both a permanent Munich venue (Krone Bau) and touring shows. Closely comparable on traditional human-artist format, European family heritage, and B2B event capabilities.
• Big Apple Circus: New York-based traditional one-ring big-top circus operating holiday-season shows at a fixed urban venue. Closely comparable on tented format, urban seasonal programming, and family entertainment positioning.
• Knie (Swiss National Circus): Switzerland's national circus, a multi-generational family operation with a permanent venue in Rapperswil and annual touring shows. Comparable on traditional family-run format, European touring, and animal-free positioning.
• Circus Nock: Swiss family circus with multi-generational heritage, touring a traditional big-top tent across Switzerland and neighboring regions. Comparable on family-ownership structure, traditional European circus format, and seasonal touring model.
• Circus Roncalli: Berlin-based traditional European circus known for artistic, animal-free productions touring a big-top tent. Comparable on human-artist differentiation, artistic positioning, and tented-format touring model.

Others

• Cavalia: Montreal-based producer of large-format touring shows under a big-top tent, blending performing arts with equestrian arts. Comparable tented-show delivery model and live family entertainment positioning, but distinct content category.
• Festival International du Cirque de Monte-Carlo: Annual Monaco-based circus festival and competition. Comparable as a high-profile European circus event / showcase, though not a directly competing production entity; relevant for talent sourcing and brand positioning in the European circus ecosystem.

Broad incumbents

• Cirque du Soleil: Montreal-based global live entertainment incumbent and the dominant scale player in the modern circus category. Same core industry (live circus performance) but vastly larger scale, arena-format delivery, and non-tented production model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/CirqueBouglione

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cirque Alexandre Bouglione