O is a water-themed stage production by Cirque du Soleil, a Canadian circus and

entertainment company. The show has been in permanent residence at the Bellagio in Las
Vegas, Nevada, United States, since October 1998. O, whose name is pronounced the same
way as eau, the French word for "water", takes place in, around and above a 1.5-million-US-
gallon (5,700 m3) pool of water, featuring water acts such as synchronized swimming as well
as aerial and ground acts. The O theatre, which is designed to resemble a 14th-century
European opera house, has 1,800 seats, thus allowing the performance to be watched by
3,600 people a night since the performance usually plays twice in a given day, also designed to
meet the special demands of the show.[2]
O was inspired by the "infinity and elegance of water's pure form," which pays tribute to the
beauty of the theater. A group of 150 stage technicians assist in the production of the show,
the cast of which is 85 performers: international acrobats, synchronized swimmers, and divers.
Some of them are former Olympic athletes.[

History[edit]
Since late October 2010, Cirque du Soleil has offered backstage tours of the O theatre. The
experience allows visitors to see the backstage wings, training rooms, costume workshop,
break area, underwater lighting area, and go up to a catwalk into the sound and lighting
booths. Not every experience will be the same as the tour is conducted around a "regular day",
so performers may or may not be training, rehearsing, or even working out.[3][4][5]
As of early 2011, O has grossed over a billion dollars since the show opened in 1998.[6]
O has received many awards, including the following:

 Entertainment Design Award, best production show, 1998[2]

 Las Vegas Review-Journal, best production show, 1999-2006[2]
 THEA, live show category, 1999[2]
 Prix Italia, creativity in high definition, 2009, for the documentary Flow[7]
O had its 10,000th performance on 1 September 2019