A major new project for Cirque du Soleil: the “LUDÕ” show, presented in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico

RIVIERA MAYA – Cirque du Soleil continues its conquest of Latin America: a brand new show entitled LUDO will be launched in November 2025.

The Quebec company made the announcement on Saturday in Riviera Maya, where the show JOYÀ recently celebrated its 10th anniversary. Just like its predecessor, LUDO will be presented in a tourist complex of the Vidanta group, in Nuevo Vallarta, on the Mexican west coast.

Like the iconic Oin residence in Las Vegas since 1998, this new show will use water and aquatic performances as a cornerstone.

However, the Circus will not be limited to the water surface this time: underwater performances will be at the forefront of the staging. To do this, a 696-seat performance hall, surrounded by a gigantic aquarium, will be built in the coming months.

Met by The Journalthe vice-president of the administrative council of Cirque du Soleil, Daniel Lamarre, described this new project as innovative.

“We know that it’s going to be something truly unique in the world,” he said. There will be a bit of a mirror effect between what happens on stage and in the aquarium, which will be very special.

Construction of the performance hall should be completed on May 26, 2025, a few months before the big premiere, scheduled for November 12, 2025.

The pandemic behind, Quebec still present

The development of new major projects did not seem possible a few years ago for Cirque du Soleil, which came close to bankruptcy in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The dark days are now behind the Montreal-based company, which aims to diversify its offering in the coming years.

“In 2023, we returned to the same level of ticket sales that we had before the pandemic,” recalls Daniel Lamarre, who previously held the position of president and CEO. It allowed us to stabilize. Now the challenge is to bring in new shows and we have several projects in the works.”

Acquired in October 2020 by the Toronto fund Catalyst Capital, Cirque is no longer a Quebec company from a financial point of view. This does not mean, however, that the presence of fleurdelisé is no longer felt within the company.

Quebecers Michel Laprise and Daniel Ross respectively occupy the roles of director and creative director for LUDO.

“We don’t do this out of chauvinism,” maintains Daniel Lamarre. I think it clearly: the best people in the world to do circus are in Montreal. We are Quebecers more than ever in operations and production.”