National State Circus

The Turkmen State Circus is the main circus venue in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, with a seating capacity of 1,700. It is managed by the Ministry of Culture and Broadcasting of Turkmenistan. Construction of the circus took place from 1979 to 1984. In 2001, President Saparmurat Niyazov banned all circuses in the country, but this ban was lifted in 2008 by the new president, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov. Subsequently, the Turkmen State Circus was reestablished, operating in the previously built Soviet-era facility. Reconstruction began in June 2008 by the Turkish company "EFOR," costing $17.9 million. The Turkmen State Circus reopened in October 2009 with its first performance, and a circus arts training school was added in 2010. The circus made its international debut in Minsk in 2012 and won first place at the Circus Festival Idol in Moscow in 2013.