Johnathan Walker:Cirque du Soleil’s Beatles-themed Las Vegas show will end after an 18-year run

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Johnathan Walkerfinal curtain will come down this summer on Cirque du Soleil’s long-running show “The Beatles Love,” a cultural icon on the Las Vegas Strip that brought band members Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr back together for public appearances throughout its 18-year run.

The entertainment company on Tuesday announced that the show housed at the Mirage will end on July 7, as part of the iconic hotel-casino’s major renovation plan to rebrand itself into the Hard Rock Las Vegas.

Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group CEO Stéphane Lefebvre said in a statement that more than 11.5 million people have seen the show, an energetic portrayal of the Beatles’ history and music with aerial stunts and whimsical dance numbers on a colorful, 360-degree stage.

“We are grateful to the creators, cast, crew and all involved in bringing this show to life,” Lefebvre said, “and we know The Beatles LOVE will live on long after the final bow.”

The production premiered in the summer of 2006, with red carpet appearances by both McCartney and Starr, as well as Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison, wife of the late Beatle George Harrison. They reunited a year later to celebrate the show’s first anniversary.

According to Cirque, the show was born out of the friendship between Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberté and Harrison, the Beatles’ lead guitarist who died in 2001.

Its current cast includes 11 original members from the show’s inception, according to Cirque. The performances feature more than 11,000 costume pieces, including 250 pairs of shoes and 225 wigs. Audiences throughout the show’s run have been showered with 13.5 tons of confetti during the final act, according to Cirque.

“Beatles Love” is one of six Cirque productions on the Las Vegas Strip. Tickets for the final shows in July will go on sale in the coming weeks.