MONTREAL (AFP) — Canadian acrobatic troupe Cirque du Soleil, created in 1984 and now performing in all corners of the world, is celebrating its silver anniversary with the launch of its 25th show "Ovo," about insects.

The circus company, with 19 traveling and permanent shows now playing, sold 11 million tickets worldwide last year and has brought wonder and delight to almost 90 million spectators in over 200 cities on five continents since 1984.

What started as a ragtag group of 20 street performers has blossomed into a global entertainment empire with an estimated net worth of three billion dollars and 4,000 employees in 40 countries.

Founded by former fire-eater Guy Laliberte, whose idea to transform circus acrobatics into sensational, plot-driven theatre has revolutionized this sector of the entertainment industry, it has however always remained true to its root

The performers originate from n...

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The group Playing For Change is the international stew stirred by Mark Johnson, a recording engineer/ producer who had a vision in a New York City subway station 10 years ago. He's travelled the world seeking out indigenous musicians all over the world to compile a series of songs performed by buskers. Johnson brought together, on tape, musicians from Israel, India, Ireland, the U.S. and several African nations to back the vocals of Marley and U2's Bono.

Playing for change

The past few years saw the release of several interesting busker documentaries. Online video sharing and social networking websites are now flooding the internet with street performers from around the world shot by amateurs on holiday.

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(KANSAS) The city of Lawrence has quite an interesting history concerning women being featured in their town. With their 12th buskerfest, they will be highlighting and honoring the incredible women of the street performing world. Over 20 different acts will perform on 5 different pitches throughout the downtown business district."Linsey Lindberg has performed for the last 12 years as Mama Lou Strongwoman and is a Lawrence Busker Festival favorite. It's not unusual for her audience to be full of young girls who emulate her feats of strength at home. She thinks that it's necessary to be a role model and promote self-empowerment for women."

The First All Female Busker Festival is going to be full of awesome acts from around the world.

Be sure to check out the link below for more information on the...

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(SOUTH AFRICA) His name is Gregory da Silva - a comedian artist, storyteller, dancer and live street perfomer from Benin West Africa. Also known locally as the "Eggman", he's a hard-boiled character known for wearing a World-Record 624 eggs on his hat.

Gaining fame in Cape Town, it now seems that the Eggman may have been traumatized after a robbery in Italy left him injured. Although you've got to break a few eggs to make an omlett, that's not what the Eggman had in mind.

But where is the Eggman today? He has seemed to have vanished after his trip to Milano vowing never to return to Cape Town, the city that sponsored him.

It now appears the Eggman has been met with "foul" play. If you have seen the Eggman, please report immediately. His bacon is getting cold....

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Gatecrashers: The World Buskers Festival is being gatecrashed by street performers eager to cash in on the crowds attracted by the popular Christchurch event.

Heymoonshaker, a guitar and beatboxing act, set themselves up on a street corner yesterday afternoon to take advantage of the crowds.

"If the festival is a boat, then we are on skis behind it trying to get as much out of it as we can," gatecrashing British beatboxer Crowe said.

British travellers Crowe and guitarist Andrew Balcon met in Nelson and decided to perform in Christchurch to raise money for their world travels.

"We thought we would be able to perform in between sets in the Square, but they wouldn't let us," Balcon said.

Festival director Jodi Wright has taken a liberal approach to the busker pilot fish cruising in the wake of the festival shark.

"It is too hard to try to police them. Unless...

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