RIYADH, 27 October 2006 — The huge yellow and red plastic tent on King Fahd Road near Hyper Panda could be seen from a distance. From a glance, you know something unusual is going on. The circus was in town for the three days of Eid Al-Fitr.

Despite the hot afternoon sun, long queues of residents — Saudi, Arab and non-Arab — were waiting patiently to be allowed in for the show after purchasing their tickets.

Men and women queued up separately at different entrance points, as seating inside the huge tent was segregated on gender basis. Some of the children went in with their mothers and others with their fathers.

Police organized crowds coming in. People took to their seats inside the tent, which could accommodate up to 1,000 people at a time. A steel fence separated them from the circled arena on the main floor.

The show began an hour late. “Are you ready?” said the commentator to the children in the audience. “Yes!” they yelled.

The show started with several acrobatic acts by the performers. Even though there were no clowns, acrobats did several tricks such as juggling hats.

“I came here with my wife and children to see the show. The children are with their mother on the other side,” said Abd Al Kader Al Assa, an Arab national.

He said he appreciated that such shows were held to entertain families, but was disappointed that his family had to be split in half to enter.

What caught most of the crowd’s attention were the performances by animals — horses, lions and dogs.

Dogs performed standing tricks and two lions jumped through loops at the command of their handler. Osamah Al-Muajjil, the organizer of the event, said this was the second year that the circus came to the capital.

“Each year we try to make it different,” he said.

He said that the municipality of Riyadh chose Al-Muajjil Group as the organizers for this year’s event. Most of the acrobats were Chinese and others were from Canada and Italy.

Abdul Razaq Al-Inazi of Riyadh Municipality said the municipality was studying the possibility of holding the show on a permanent basis.

Among the familiar faces seen in the queue was Saudi soccer hero Yousef Al-Thunayan with his wife and children.

“I would like to thank the municipal authorities for making such shows for the entertainment of families, especially children,” Al-Thunayan said, adding, “I attended last year’s festivities alone. This year, I came with my family.”