---
title: "A German Circus Is Using Amazing Holograms Instead of Animals"
description: "Circus Roncalli in Germany did away with its live animal shows. Instead, its using holograms to project virtual horses, elephants, and other animals."
date: "2019-06-05"
modified: "2019-06-05"
authors:
  - name: "Dan Robitzski"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/circus-using-holograms-animals"
categories:
  - "Future Society"
  - "Virtual Reality"
tags:
  - "circus"
  - "holograms"
  - "technology"
  - "the digest"
---

# A German Circus Is Using Amazing Holograms Instead of Animals

![Circus Roncalli in Germany did away with its live animal shows. Instead, its using holograms to project virtual horses, elephants, and other animals.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/circus-using-holograms-animals.png>)
*\<em\>Image: Circus Roncalli\</em\>*

## Humane Treatment

Germany's "[Circus Roncalli](<https://www.roncalli.de/>)" did away with the oft-criticized practice of making trained animals perform during its shows, opting instead for a high-tech makeover.

Now the circus uses 3D holograms and other projections to create a brand-new kind of animal show, [according to](<https://rp-online.de/panorama/deutschland/circus-roncalli-ab-2018-treten-keine-tiere-mehr-auf_aid-20784233>) the German news outlet *RP Online* — and it looks like a genuine spectacle. Hologram horses appear out of nowhere, stampeding around the circumference of the circus ring. As they fade away, a giant fish is projected idly floating in place. A hologram elephant approaches part of the audience before recreating the sort of trick one might see in a traditional animal act, balancing on its front two feet, as seen in a [2018 video](<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3KbgGJux4E>) by Optoma, the company that made the hologram projectors.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3KbgGJux4E

## Nothing But Mammals

The idea is that audiences can get the same sense of wonder they would watching exotic animals in a traditional circus act — plus the bells and whistles of CGI — but because the animals are [only holograms](<https://www.facebook.com/CircusRoncalli/videos/324350091569936/>), there's no risk of actual living things being treated inhumanely between shows.

Circus Roncalli started to put on [hologram shows](<https://futurism.com/virtual-idol-hologram-luo-tianyi-lang-lang-live>) last year after doing away with live animal shows in late 2017, according to *RP Online.*

"Unfortunately, the 'old' circus has gotten a bit dusty, but this is how the circus can remain alive," said German TV anchor Max Schautzer in the Optoma video.

**READ MORE:** [This Animal-Free Circus Is Such A Stunning Show](<https://www.thedodo.com/in-the-wild/austrian-circus-holograph-animals>) \[*The Dodo*\]

**More on holograms:** *[This Volkswagen Prototype Has a Holographic Interface](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/vw-hologram-sound-system>)*

## Author
Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/danrobitzski>)