Cirque du Soleil is going bigger.
The Montreal-based live entertainment company is building in Toronto this spring what it describes as the world’s largest free-standing event complex.
The pop-up venue, known as the Pavilion, is slated to open on May 1 for the company’s upcoming production of “Ovo,” which runs through June 28. It will be constructed on the former site of the Mr. Christie factory in the Humber Bay Shores neighbourhood of Etobicoke.
“The Pavilion is, essentially, a portable arena,” said Duncan Fisher, chief officer of show operations at Cirque du Soleil, in a phone interview with the Star. “It opens up a whole new dimension of shows for us to bring to Toronto.”
The rectangular-shaped performance space will measure 60 metres wide by 75 metres long, or just over an acre, approximately the size of 22 tennis courts. It’s significantly larger than Cirque du Soleil’s circular Big Top venues, which are roughly 50 metres in diameter.
The Pavilion also takes 28 days to assemble and an additional three weeks to dismantle, whereas the Big Top can be built in four-and-a-half days and torn down in less than half that time.
Fisher added that the Pavilion allows Cirque du Soleil to present shows that might not otherwise fit in a traditional Big Top venue. Of the company’s nine productions currently touring the world, six are being presented in Big Tops while three are specially designed for these mobile arenas.
“Ovo” is Cirque du Soleil’s 25th production and has been revamped since it last played Toronto in 2009, with new acts, characters and music. (The previous iteration to play the city was presented in a Big Top.) The show, whose title means “egg” in Portuguese, is inspired by the colourful world of insects and follows a quirky creature who falls in love with a ladybug.
Cirque du Soleil is currently in the third year of a five-year deal to present its shows on the former site of Mr. Christie’s Bakery, which shuttered more than a decade ago. “Ovo” follows recent productions of “Echo” last year and “Kooza” in 2023.
The circus company’s Toronto residencies, however, have not been without controversy. During previous runs, locals near Humber Bay Shores have raised concern about traffic congestion in the area, along with noise and light pollution from the Cirque du Soleil productions.
Councillor Amber Morley (Ward 3, Etobicoke-Lakeshore), who represents residents in the area, said in an email statement to the Star that the city’s transportation services team is “actively co-ordinating with Cirque du Soleil to mitigate any potential traffic congestion related to their 2025 season.”
“In previous years we’ve experienced thoughtful co-operation from the team at Cirque du Soleil who have committed to being good neighbours and made adjustments along the way, including to volume of sound and direction of lights, in response to feedback from our office and surrounding neighbours,” she added.
Fisher said he recognizes there was “some inconvenience” for neighbours, but said that Cirque du Soleil has been working “very closely” with the city to mitigate those issues. He noted that while the Pavilion will be physically larger than the Big Top, it will have a similar capacity of around 2,500 seats. “There have been a lot of meetings as part of our event permitting process,” he said. “And we fully intend to live up to those commitments.”
