The YOUNG STAGE International Circus Festival brings together the young circus elite from all over the world to dazzle and amaze audiences and you can experience it for yourself in Basel!

Young circus talent from four continents

Every year in May, six breathtaking circus shows by YOUNG STAGE take place in Basel. Spectacular young circus artists who have gone through stringent selection processes with hundreds of other performers present their great skills to an enthusiastic audience in a magical and sometimes emotional two-and-a-half-hour stage show. 

The performances for the YOUNG STAGE International Circus Festival 2024 include the following:

• Hair hanging
• Duo club juggling
• Handstand on canes
• Hoop rolling
• Flying pole with contortion
• Cyr wheel
• Unicycle & bowl kicking
• Comedy hoop
• Vertical rope
• Diabolo
• Partner acrobatics
• Level straps
• Trio juggling

Open-air circus spectacle for young and old

An old tradition when the circus came to town would be for a parade to take place with drums and trumpets announcing the arrival of the circus. The YOUNG STAGE Festival keeps this tradition alive with an open-air weekend before the official festival days.

On April 27-28, the weekend before the festival starts, everyone is welcome to linger and marvel at Barfüsserplatz where visitors are surrounded by amazing acrobatics and delicious refreshments. If you bring your kids along, they can even try out some circus tricks themselves under the guidance of professionals free of charge. 

Image credit: © Pablo Wünsch Blanco / YOUNG STAGE

Be amazed at the YOUNG STAGE International Circus Festival

While admission to the open-air circus weekend is free, tickets to the circus festival shows on May 2-6 start at 50 Swiss francs. There are also dinner and show options for a special experience. To find out more about the festival programme and to book your tickets, visit the official YOUNG STAGE website.

Thumb image credit: © Pablo Wünsch Blanco / YOUNG STAGE