Pi Lunch with Guy Laliberté, Founder of Cirque du Soleil and the ONE DROP Foundation
Tuesday 12th October 12:30pm, Mayfair

Guy is Founder of Cirque du Soleil and it will be a rare and unique opportunity to meet this amazing entrepreneur and visionary who has taken the world by storm by creating the concept of circus bringing together artistic and acrobatic disciplines since 1984. 

Guy Laliberté is the founder of Cirque du Soleil and the ONE DROP Foundation. Guy was born in Quebec City in 1959. An accordionist, stilt-walker and fire-breather, he founded Quebec's first internationally-renowned circus with the support of a small group of accomplices. A bold visionary, Guy Laliberté recognized and cultivated the talents of the street performers from the Fête foraine de Baie-Saint-Paul and created Cirque du Soleil in 1984. Since the very beginnings of Cirque du Soleil, Guy has insisted on having a social approach as part of the development of the company. Keenly aware that Cirque could play a role as agent of change, over 15 years ago, he created Cirque du Monde, an arts education programme for street kids all over the world. He also chose to set up the International Headquarters and creative studios of Cirque du Soleil in the St. Michel district of Montreal, one of the poorest neighbourhoods in North America, to stimulate a sense of local pride and ensure the revitalization of the area through artistic stimulation. This paved the way to TOHU, Cité des arts du Cirque, a project he initiated in the same neighbourhood. Since early on he has also dedicated 1% of all revenues generated by Cirque du Soleil to social and cultural programs worldwide. Guy was the first to orchestrate the marriage of cultures and artistic and acrobatic disciplines that is the hallmark of Cirque du Soleil. Since 1984, he has guided the creative team through the creation of every show and contributed to elevating the circus arts to the level of the great artistic disciplines. In October 2007, Guy Laliberté entered into a second lifetime commitment by creating the ONE DROP Foundation to fight poverty around the world by providing sustainable access to safe water. This new initiative stems from the knowledge that the right to water is key to the survival of individuals and communities all over the world. It is inspired by the values which have been at the heart of Cirque du Soleil since its inception: the belief that life gives back what you have given and even the smallest gesture will make a difference.

Université Laval (Québec) awarded an honorary doctorate to Guy Laliberté in 2008. The year before, Guy Laliberté took the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award for all three levels: Quebec, Canada and international. In 2004, he received the Order of Canada, the highest distinction in the country, from the Governor General of Canada.  The same year, he was recognized by Time Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. In 2003, he was honoured by the Condé Nast group as part of the Never Follow Program, a tribute to creators and innovators. In 2001, he was named a Great Montrealer by the Académie des Grands Montréalais. In 1997, Guy Laliberté received the Ordre National du Québec, the highest distinction awarded by the Government of Quebec.

There are a limited number of spaces available for this event so if you would like to attend please RSVP to Sara Nori as soon as possible

sn@picapital.co.uk

020 7529 5656