Trapese, an orchestra and clowns: This Galway event is a must-see

If you love a good circus, then this will be like your favourite one x10000.

This coming Wednesday, April 19, Circus 250 is holding a VIP launch party, which is being hosted by the Irish Street Arts and Spectacle Network.

For two hours only, Cirque du Gaillimh will perform under the Big Top in Claddagh which will entail a circus and music spectacle starring 70 teenagers from Galway Community Circus and Maoin Cheoil na Gaillimhe Youth Orchestra.

On the night, Circus 250 Ireland will announce plans for 2018 with partners from across the arts including Galway Community Circus, National Gallery Ireland, Belfast-based Tumble Circus, traditional Circus Gerbola, aerial dancers Fidget Feet and Duffy’s Circus, and the Irish Street Arts, Circus and Spectacle Network (ISACS).

Then on Saturday and Sunday, April 22- 23, 40 young performers from Galway Community Circus, together with the Maoin Cheoil na Gaillimhe Youth Orchestra, will perform a new and original piece of theatre entitled Cirque du Gaillimh: The Greatest Show in the West.

And there's some pretty fab stars involved too, with actor Gabriel Byrne, singer Camille O’Sullivan, actor Sir Tony Robinson, Riverdance co- founder John McColgan, entertainer Little John Nee and national treasure Panti Bliss lending a hand to the event.

The 2018 anniversary will be marked by an Ireland-wide celebration. Circuses, museums, filmmakers, designers, theatres and circuses will all join in on the celebrations.

RTÉ broadcaster, Joe Duffy, said of Circus 250: “The wonder of the big top, the collective sighs, screams and roars as we sat in awe of this wondrous cornucopia of colour and death defying acrobats is the memory that stays with me to this day.

"Thankfully with circuses like Duffys – no relation – still touring Ireland with their cavalcade of magic I can still experience it today.

"When the circus left, I stood gazing at the empty field, looking at the barren spot that only minutes before hand was a circus ring. The trucks disappeared into the distance, the wonderful memories never did."

This sounds like it's going to be epic.