MSC Cruises reveals plans to team up with Cirque du Soleil

MSC Cruises has announced an exclusive partnership with Cirque du Soleil for shows aboard its next-generation Meraviglia ships.

The performances will take place inside purpose-built Aft Lounges, which are being specifically designed for the shows.

The Aft Lounges will include 450 seats and a 200-seat restaurant area and they’ll be built on all four of MSC’s upcoming Meraviglia ships. The first is due to set sail in June 2017 and is named MSC Meraviglia.

Cirque du Soleil will run two performances each evening, six nights a week.

Described as a dramatic mix of circus arts and street entertainment, the shows aim to invoke the senses, evoke the imagination and provoke the emotions of people around the world.

The company’s employees and artists represent more than 50 nationalities and speak 25 different languages, and close to 155 million spectators have seen one of its shows since they began in 1984.

Cirque du Soleil perform up to 20 shows around the world, however the shows for MSC Cruises will be entirely new.

The partnership was announced aboard the MSC Fantasia in Barcelona, Spain, in front of 1,800 guests.

Pierfrancesco Vago, Executive Chairman of MSC Cruises said, “Together with Cirque du Soleil we are now designing a totally new, live entertainment experience for our guests. It’s this commitment to innovation, and the vision and creativity that only a family-owned company can apply, that makes MSC Cruises so distinct.”

Further Meraviglia project ships are scheduled for delivery in 2019, 2020 and 2022.

For more information visit www.msccruises.co.uk.