Canada's famed Cirque du Soleil acrobats and gymnasts won't be sharing their awe-inspiring skills with the world at the 2010 Olympic opening and closing ceremonies in Vancouver, B.C.
A source close to the Montreal-based company says tight creative control by the Vancouver and International Olympic Committees led Cirque du Soleil to skip the ceremonies.
Officially, both Vancouver organizers and Cirque cite the entertainment group's commitment to other projects as the reason Cirque is not involved.
Cirque spokeswoman Renee-Claude Menard does say the group is accustomed to having entire creative control.
Since the Vancouver Organizing Committee presented a widely panned contribution to the closing ceremonies of the Torino Olympics in 2006, creative concepts require approval from Vancouver officials and the International Olympic Committee.
However, a spokesman for local organizers cautioned against drawing any conclusions about the IOC's increased participation since 2006.
