Circus tycoon hosts space show

Published on Saturday 10 October 2009 19:59

CANADIAN space tourist and circus billionaire Guy Laliberte mixed star power, science lectures, music and poetry with water, hosting a show from the International Space Station.

A global audience tuned in via TV and the internet on Friday as the Cirque du Soleil founder beamed his One Drop Foundation crusade to preserve the world's water resources back to Earth.

Former US vice president Al Gore, U2 and Shakira were among the parade of entertainers and activists who participated back on Earth with acts performed in 14 cities on five continents.

One of the most anticipated segments of the evening was a chat between Laliberte and Bono, who was performing with U2 at a concert in Tampa, Florida.

In a live chat, Bono said: "You are the first clown in space and we think it's a great idea for you to give us your perspective on our little planet while you're not on our little planet and instead looking down on it.

"How do we look from there? How does our little planet look, Guy?"

Laliberte replied: "Planet Earth looks so great but also so fragile."

The event combined live and taped segments. Production costs for the multilingual show are estimated at between $6 million and $10m – which is on top of the $35m that Laliberte paid to become Canada's first space tourist.