Circus director René Baldoni received Den Danske Cirkuspris on Friday, August 14, 2026, after more than 25 years in the business. Culture Minister Zenia Stampe presented the award.
Avisen Danmark reports, in an article distributed by the news agency Ritzau, that Baldoni was handed the prize by Stampe, who represents Radikale Venstre. Baldoni is the director of Cirkus Baldoni. The chair of the prize committee, Ole Simonsen, describes the award as the honorary prize.
According to Simonsen, this year’s honorary prize goes to Baldoni because he has run his circus for 25 seasons. In that time, per the committee, it grew from a very small circus with few artists into Denmark’s second-largest circus, with performances by international top artists.
Baldoni previously toured with Cirkusteatret. In a press release cited by Avisen Danmark, Den Danske Cirkuspris describes that project as an innovation that combined circus and theater. The same press release notes that it proved too difficult to sell tickets for the unfamiliar format.
Baldoni has run Cirkus Baldoni since 2002. The business now stages both summer and Christmas performances, according to the reporting.
Two other prizes awarded
Den Danske Cirkuspris hands out three prizes in total. The talent prize, Talentprisen, went to the Guerrero Sisters from Cirkus Arli, while the prize for best number went to Duo Costache from Cirkus Arena.
The Guerrero Sisters are the sisters Jaquii and Michelle Guerrero, aged 16 and 21. They perform an aerial act that often includes hair hanging. Simonsen said it is rare for an artist to hang by the hair, and that Jaquii does so while carrying her older sister.
Duo Costache hold several entries in Guinness World Records, including the record for hanging by the teeth for the longest time, according to the article. The pair received this year’s prize for a different act. Simonsen described a number in which Leonardo carries Vita, with both performers using mouth grips.
The jury consists of Anne Liisberg, journalistic editor-in-chief of ISCENE, actor and stage director Jan Hertz, and Niels Christian Hansen, chair of Cirkushusets Museumsforening, which is linked to the country’s circus museum tradition. Ole Simonsen, a former artistic adviser to Cirkus Benneweis, is the fourth member.
Den Danske Cirkuspris was first awarded in the years 1968 to 1970. The prize was then dormant before being handed out again from 2016, as reported by Avisen Danmark.
The only reason given for the timing of Baldoni’s award is his completion of 25 seasons and the growth of Cirkus Baldoni. That explanation is attributed to Simonsen and to the prize organization’s press release.
