The final preparations have been put in place for Cirque du Soleil’s visit to Birmingham NIA next month, which will transform the venue into an intimate 5,000-seated performing space reminiscent of the entertainers’ traditional big-top setting.

By the time the show hits the city from March  18-22, their new spectacular Quidam (pronounced “key-dam”)  will have been performed to over 9.5 million spectators in 68 cities and 19 countries across 13 years but this is the first time ever it will have been performed in an arena.

Tickets are £50 plus booking and transaction fee. Click here for more information.

Quidam is a Latin word for an anonymous passer by, a solitary figure lingering on a street corner, a person rushing past, living lost amidst the crowd.

The show follows a young girl in a world of nameless faces, lost in an anonymous society. Frustrated with her little world she embarks on a journey and meets mysterious characters who seduce her with the marvellous, the unsettling and the terrifying.

Planning Quidam for the arena environment has taken more than three years and has been a colossal undertaking.

Hosting a massive 40 metre square staging area for the first time ever, the capacity of the arena will be reduced by more than half. This will result in a uniquely intimate environment with the entire audience enjoying an extraordinary viewing experience, making them feel like part of the performance itself.

Featuring over 50 performers from 14 countries, the stage will be set to showcase the best performers in an exhilarating and spell binding combination of gravity-defying acrobats, aerialists, contortionists, rope-jumpers, a balancing duo and of course the acclaimed crazy clowns.

This classic show will be one of the most technical productions ever created and staged for an arena. The production will feature a honeycombed stage with traps and flying rigs so performers can materialise from the depths or dramatically dive from the roof on ropes.

Quidam will turn gravity on its head with an impressive 120-foot overhead flying structure (the ‘Telepherique’) made up of five imposing rails which will take up the entire interior roof surface of the arena.

The system will be used to bring artists on to the stage and to create a multitude of special effects. Ten computer controlled motors will lift and fly the acrobats out over the stage and into the audience. The ‘Telepherique’ will be 33 metres long, and at its centre is 12.75 metres high (the height of three double decker buses).

For more information about Cirque du Soleil, visit www.cirquedusoleil.com