A Soyuz spacecraft has brought Canadian circus tycoon and space tourist Guy Laliberte to the International Space Station.

The current ISS team welcomed the unusual passenger along with Russian cosmonaut Maxim Suraev and American astronaut Jeffrey Williams.
Laliberte says he is going to create a festive mood in orbit and amuse his crew mates – he even brought along red noses for them.

Canadian billionaire Quebec-born philanthropist Guy Laliberte, jokes as he puts on a clown nose as he speaks through the glass wall with his family and friends at Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2009. (AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel)

BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan — Even in a sterile quarantine bay, the world’s first space clown couldn’t resist the urge to perform.

Two days before he is to blast off for the International Space Station, Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte on Monday cracked jokes, donned his trademark red nose and flashed with enthusiasm over the venture that he wants to be both entertaining and educational.

“In my life I have been doing a lot of fun, crazy and adventurous things, but this is totally the biggest adventure I have ever embarked on,” the Canadian told The Associated Press by telephone from behind the glass wall protecting him and two other astronauts from contamination at Russia’s Baiknour Cosmodrome.

“Like many kids, I grew up in the generation of space exploration. But I remember that back then, what overcame me was not the desire to travel in space, but the belief that fairy tales were possible, and that kind of shaped my way of seeing life,” he said.

Other space tourists have used their time at the ISS to conduct scientific experiments, but Laliberte has different aims for his 12 days aboard the orbiting lab.

“I am not a scientist, I’m not a doctor, I’m not an engineer,” he said. “I’m an organizer, a showman, and a creator — I have an entertaining personality, so that is really what I am bringing here.”

Laliberte has promised to bring each crew member of the International Space Station their own clown nose to wear, but plans to take two along for himself: one red, one yellow — “the yellow one I will wear when I am a little grumpy, and the red one I will wear when I am happy and joyful.”

The voyage to the space station begins Wednesday, when Laliberte blasts off for the two-day trip aboard a Soyuz space capsule with astronauts Maxim Surayev of Russia and American Jeffrey Williams from the Kazakh steppes. The rocket and capsule were hoisted onto the launch pad Monday — the same launch pad from which Yuri Gagarin left in 1961 on the first human trip into orbit.

Laliberte, 50, started as a street performer and rose to an estimated net worth of $2.5 billion after founding the innovative and globally popular Cirque du Soleil. The trip to the International Space Station is costing him $35 million.

He sees the expenditure in part as effective marketing opportunity.

“I am the type of person who is always trying to maximize an investment, and this is the 25th anniversary of Cirque du Soleil, which will be a celebration for us,” he said.

But along with that, Laliberte also aims to use the trip to promote awareness of world water supply problems.

On Oct. 9, he will lead a “poetical social” performance from aboard the International Space Station for the One Drop Foundation, an organization he set up in 2007.

“I start with the simple idea of reading a poem, which will involve characters like the sun, the moon and a drop of water,” he explains. “Those characters will then engage in a discussion, which will take the form of a little poetic story that we will read to the population of earth.”

Activists and celebrities, including former U.S. Vice-President Al Gore and Colombian pop star Shakira, are to contribute to the performance from 14 cities worldwide, and all of it is to be shown on the foundation’s website.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida — A former stiltwalker and fire-eater stole NASA’s show Thursday, saying he’ll be “like a kid in a candy store” experimenting with zero-gravity tricks on his upcoming tourist trip to the international space station.

Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte is shelling out a reported $35 million for his round-trip ticket aboard a Russian spacecraft. He will rocket into orbit from Kazakhstan at the end of September with a professional astronaut and cosmonaut, and spend more than a week at the space station.

At a news conference in Houston, as 13 people circled overhead on the shuttle-station complex, Laliberte was bombarded with questions from journalists, most of them gathered in his home country of Canada.

“As you know, I’m not a scientist. I’m not a doctor. I’m not an engineer. I’m an artist. I’m a creator, and I’ll try to do and accomplish this mission with my creativity and what life has given me as a tool,” said the Quebec billionaire, who turns 50 in September.

Laliberte assured reporters that he will not play with any fire in space — for obvious reasons. But he hopes to try some acrobatics in weightlessness and may teach his crewmates a card trick or two.

“I don’t know how we’ll be using stilts up there,” he said. “But I think there are a couple little things, hopefully, that I have learned in my career of street entertainer that I will try to apply up there.”

Laliberte said he’s seen pictures of floating bottles and other items at the space station that might make for some interesting tricks. But he noted, “I think I will be more like a kid in a candy store up there, discovering things that those guys know. Because I know what I can do on Earth. But what I’m really interested, is to gain and learning what their world is.”

He described his life as a fairy tale and said watching men land on the moon 40 years ago this week, on a black-and-white television at a campground in the middle of the forest, taught him that all things are possible. Now it’s his turn to inspire the next generation.

“It’s important to show examples of such things toward any type of activities, circus, entertainment, space exploration, it doesn’t matter,” said Laliberte, the father of five young children.

As Laliberte talked up creativity, art and safe water for the world’s poor in both English and French, astronauts 220 miles (354 kilometres) up placed science experiments on the new front porch of Japan’s $1 billion space station lab.

The combined crews of the space station and shuttle Endeavour installed the porch last week.

Thursday’s work involved using the 33-foot (10-meter) robot arm on the lab, Kibo — Japanese for “hope” — to install three experiments. An X-ray telescope went on first, then a set of communication equipment. Last was a space environment monitor for measuring atomic oxygen, cosmic dust and light particles, and their effects on electronics and other materials.

Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata was first to operate the lab’s robot arm, being used for the first time to hoist payloads. He’s been at the space station since March and will return to Earth next week aboard Endeavour.

Back in Houston at the home of Mission Control, meanwhile, Laliberte is training all week with Soyuz crewmates Jeffrey Williams and Maxim Suraev, learning emergency procedures and familiarizing himself with NASA equipment.

Laliberte will become the seventh space tourist, courtesy of Virginia-based Space Adventures, which brokered the deals with Russian officials. The first six were software, technology and business types, making Laliberte the first professional artist set for space.

Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte is on the countdown to become the world’s seventh, and Canada’s first, space tourist.

Laliberte has begun training at the Cosmonaut Training Centre Star City outside Moscow for his ride on a Russian Soyuz space craft this September.

The Quebec billionaire was listed as one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2004.

[Guy Laliberte, Founder, Cirque Du Soleil]:
“This is a really big moment for me. I have been introduced as many things in the past: fire-breather, entrepreneur, performer, partier. But today, to be introduced as a private space explorer is an unbelievable and humbling feeling.”

Laliberte will travel on board the Soyuz TMA-16 spacecraft with a Russian cosmonaut and a NASA astronaut.

[Guy Laliberte, Founder, Cirque Du Soleil]:
“I found that missing sense of discovery and I rediscovered my sense of adventure, the very essence of what stimulated me for many years when I lived and worked on the street. That very special camaraderie and the underlying law of ‘I will watch your back and you watch mine’. I found it all over again at the International Space Community.

During his 12-day stay at the International Space Station, Laliberte hopes to raise awareness on water issues in the world.

[Guy Laliberte, Founder, Cirque Du Soleil]:
“Why water? Because it is a source of life and there is an urgent need to raise awareness world-wide of water issues. My theme is Water for all, All for water.”

The Russian federal space agency launches a Soyuz spacecraft to the station every six months to rotate the crew.

16 countries are involved, and this is the time when private citizens can pay to travel into space.

The Canadian Press

MONTREAL — A website that covers NASA is reporting that Guy Laliberte, the founder of the Cirque du soleil, will visit the International Space Station this September.

“NASA Watch,” which has no official links with the American space agency, says it has learned from multiple sources that Laliberte will fly into orbit aboard a Soyuz spacecraft .

Also see: http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20090604/sc_space/acrobattobenextspacetourist

Renee-Claude Menard, a Cirque spokeswoman, was not immediately available for comment but a message on her voice mail indicated she is on a business trip to Russia.

The Canadian Space Agency is holding a news conference at its Montreal-area headquarters on Thursday to announce what it calls the first philanthropic mission to the space station by a private Canadian explorer.

The announcement is also being made simultaneously in Moscow.

A spokeswoman for Space Adventures, the company that helps book space flights, would not confirm that Laliberte is the next Canadian space traveller.

Stacey Tearne said from Virginia that an announcement would be made on Thursday.

My part in the project was to play keyboards and arrange string parts recorded by members of the Hong Kong Symphony. Most of the recording was done on location in Macau (SAR) China, and the string parts with the HK Philharmonic players was completed at a recording studio in Hong Kong.

Rumor mill on the street is that Guy LaLiberte (founder of Cirque Du Soleil) has heard the soundtrack and loved it. I’ve even been told he asked to hear a second time the next morning.

Members of the ZAIA band got to hear a preview of the finished soundtrack with composer Violaine Corradi at the end of February. I won’t give you any spoilers, except to say that I was very pleased with the project and enjoyed the creativity in the mixes.

Violaine Corradi (ZAIA composer) told me one of her goals of the finished soundtrack was to have it be like looking at a prism held in your hand, then rotating it to look at the prism from different perspectives. I definately got that feeling from the soundtrack.

To my knowledge, this is also the first Cirque Du Soleil soundtrack CD recorded by the actual performing musicians in the show. The other soundtracks are recorded with studio musicians in Montreal I’ve heard. (With the exception of some subsequent live releases from shows like Mystere).

So I hope you all enjoy our work on the ZAIA CD when it’s released. Of course I’ll post on my blog when I know the official release date.

For Christmas 2008 Guy Laliberte had a fantastic gift for the artists of the Cirque Du Soleil ZAIA show (and other CDS artists worldwide): a handbag made from the tarp of a retired Cirque big top tent. The handbags are made of the recycled material and fit into Cirque “eco-friendly” attitude, as well as featuring the wonderful bright yellow and blue of the traveling Cirque big tops. Just like the tarp you see behind Guy in the photo above.

Thank you and Merry Christmas 2008 to Guy!

I’m too lazy to take a photo of the actual bag – but here are other Cirque type bags that use recycled big top tarp:

And a great photo of the Cirque Du Soleil bigtop:

ABOUT GUY LALIBERTE

Guy Laliberté (born September 2, 1959 in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada) is the founder and chief executive officer of Cirque du Soleil. Starting out as an accordion player, stiltwalker and fire-eater; Laliberté created his circus which is a synthesis of all circus styles around the world. In 2006, this 95% share holder of the 1.2 billion dollar Cirque Du Soleil was named the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year.

Here is my personal “Conrad update” post that I’ll keep stickied on the top of my blog until our Cirque show opens. Click the “Read the rest of this entry” link to read current status, or the rest of the blog for tidbits on our new Cirque Du Soleil adventure in Macau, China. Sorry, no details posted about the show until after Grand Opening.

For my Cirque and Macau friends here is a link for Macau Real Time Typhoon Status:
http://www.smg.gov.mo/e_index.php

Purchase ZAIA Tickets Online

2008

• Starting September 2008 – Running shows
• August 29 – Grand Opening!
• July 26 – Soft opening of show and grand Cirque party!
• July 25 – Official Dress Rehearsal
• July 13 – Second “Lion’s Den” with Guy LaLiberte. Friends and family only.
• July 6 – First “Lion’s Den” with Guy LaLiberte. Friends and family only.
• May 29 – Press conference and live performance excerpts for media. Name of our show is ZAIA. Read my post at Cirque Du Soleil ZAIA and also visit the Official Cirque Du Soleil ZAIA page.
• April 14 – Rehearsals resume in China at the new theater in the Sands Venetian.
• March 23 (Easter) – Whole troupe flies to Macau China! First three weeks we have off to find apartments and get settled. Then it’s serious rehearsal time to get the show on it’s feet.
• January 26 – Arrived in Montreal, Canada at Cirque Du Soleil headquarters to begin rehearsals for the “Macau I” show to open at the Sands Venetian in Macau, China fall of 2008.
• January 5 – Departure delayed three weeks.

ZAIA PRESS CONFERENCE – May 29, 2008 from Macau, China

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpYMbFbSlKY

ZAIA OFFICIAL CIRQUE DU SOLEIL TRAILER

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IquF826T2M

DESTINATION MACAU VIDEO REPORT – ZAIA

httpv://youtube.com/watch?v=BQ0lDbLBhkg

05/30/08 – Hong Kong Daily Apple newspaper article and photo
(Click for full size)

FAVORITE CIRQUE DU SOLEIL VIDEOS ON YOUTUBE:

Let Me Fall – bungee from Saltimbanco
httpv://youtube.com/watch?v=aOhb7uc8IGU
Cirque Du Soleil “Bungee” from the Saltimbanco spectacular, performed to Josh Groban’s collaboration for Cirque, “Let Me Fall” By Me. This is my favorite CDS video.
The Let Me Fall video captures to me the intangible beauty that Cirque Du Soleil is all about.

Mystere promo video
httpv://youtube.com/watch?v=FlrsvPb8zF0

Cirque du Soleil – La Nouba – Acrobacia
httpv://youtube.com/watch?v=U7tfyVbyD08

Cirque Du Soleil “O” video
httpv://youtube.com/watch?v=lYaLLX_bF7c

Clip from Cirque Du Soleil’s 25th Anniversary
httpv://youtube.com/watch?v=oKGBkc77sDw

Power Track act from Allegria
httpv://youtube.com/watch?v=eP6AJXprOXc

httpv://youtube.com/watch?v=wdj-LC8jx7c

Quidam excerpt
httpv://youtube.com/watch?v=TJNDPNIJDQY

Allegria – Cirque Du Soleil midnight sun
httpv://youtube.com/watch?v=y8YjtozRX1o

Corteo cast 2006 behind the scenes
httpv://youtube.com/watch?v=plhyxlxu1ns

Casting for Cirque Du Soleil
httpv://youtube.com/watch?v=GKhh3vCmS7w

CDS – The Fire Within – The Making of a Cirque Show
httpv://youtube.com/watch?v=mpjd4nKH9zI

Nightshift visits Cirque Du Soleil
httpv://youtube.com/watch?v=2EXsMiZ_PNE

FAVORITE MACAU RELATED YOUTUBE VIDEOS:

An Introduction to Macau
httpv://youtube.com/watch?v=eFY6OcF4NvQ

Destination Macau – The Macau Sands Venetian
httpv://youtube.com/watch?v=1RN7WxA0uX8

Destination Macau – The Cotai Strip
httpv://youtube.com/watch?v=tAJ0mRyBVv0

“This will be the most comprehensive, the broadest hospitality entertainment complex that has ever existed”

University Students Climb the Macau Tower

httpv://youtube.com/watch?v=mWdSZS4yLSo

Top graphic is a Cirque Du Soleil show promo. Opening Summer 2008 at the Venetian Macao Resort Hotel.