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Bertram Mills’ Circus
In 1919, Bertram Mills was one of the guests at the Christmas circus in Olympia in London. After the performance he apparently claimed ‘If I couldn’t do better, I’d eat my hat’ and despite having no experience in the profession he undertook to produce the circus at Olympia the following year.
Although Bertram Mills had no experience of working in circus, like Astley before him he was a keen horseman. Having travelled to horse shows on the continent he had come into contact with American and European circus and realised the potential to reinvigorate circus in the Britain. Mills commissioned John Ringling to bring his famous three ring circus to London from America.
In June 1920 Ringling withdrew because he couldn’t ship his show over the Atlantic. Undeterred, Mills set off with his son to see and commission acts from all over Europe. Bertram Mills’ sixteen act show opened at Olympia on 17 December 1920 for the Christmas season. It included Japanese gymnasts, Sanger’s elephants, Henning Orlando’s Horses, and trick cyclists.
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Koringa |
Bertram Mills had the foresight and vision to create an international circus, bringing the most exciting acts from all over Europe to Olympia. He was an astute businessman and realised that in order to profit from the circus he would have to sell seats at a higher price than was customary. To try to attract a richer audience he instigated ‘opening lunches’ inviting as many influential people as he could muster, including key members of the press. His innovative and high profile advertising campaign paid off. The press billed the Olympia performance as ‘The Great Circus Revival’.
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Within a few years Olympia’s opening lunches were attracting members of high society. By 1927 the prestigious guest list included Winston Churchill and his wife, politician Ramsay McDonald and the Earl and Countess of Orkney.
The Christmas Circus at Olympia became a huge success and continued until the 1966 season.
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Bertram Mills' Programme |
