Cirque’s “Love” Sets Closing Date at Mirage

A beloved Cirque du Soleil show, “Love,” has announced a closing date at Mirage.

We knew the end was near for “Love,” now we know just how near. The show’s last performance takes place on July 7, 2024.

Mirage is becoming Hard Rock Las Vegas, and the closure of “Love” is just the beginning of a resort-wide overhaul.

“Love” is the Ringo of Las Vegas Cirque shows.

“Love” opened in 2006, and wasn’t our favorite Cirque show, but the people who love it really, really love it. Although it technically ran for 18 years, it was closed for 17 months during the pandemic.

The show features the music of The Beatles. For our fellow youths, The Beatles were like the Taylor Swift of the 1960s.

“Love” is more like a Broadway musical than a Cirque show, and whether that’s your cup of tea or not, you’ll want to catch the show before it closes, as it’s a part of Las Vegas history.

We’ve heard rumors Cirque du Soleil is pitching new show ideas to Hard Rock, but no decisions have been made about what might be next, if anything, when Hard Rock Las Vegas opens, probably in 2027 or 2028.

A source at Mirage says renovation construction begins in the “Love” theater on August 1, 2024. The space will apparently not be a theater when the Hard Rock opens.

Hard Rock, owned by the Seminole tribe, has been tight-lipped about its plans. They haven’t even officially said whether Mirage will close during the renovation. Most assume it will have to given the scope of the construction, including building a massive guitar-shaped hotel tower on the site.

Don’t fret, it’s going to be awesome.

While Hard Rock hasn’t said it will close, an internal Cirque memo says the Strip resort will close by the end of 2024.

Mirage to close by the end of 2024, we scooped.

Cirque’s Stephane Lefebvre, said in a statement, “The Beatles ‘Love’ has been seen by more than 11.5 million guests since opening in 2006. It’s been an honor for all of us at Cirque du Soleil to collaborate with The Beatles and Apple Corps Ltd. on what can only be described as a masterpiece. We are grateful to the creators, cast, crew and all involved in bringing this show to life and we know The Beatles ‘Love’ will live on long after the final bow.” Lefebvre is CEO of Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group, and in high school, he was voted “Most Likely to Have His Name Mispronounced by Americans.”

“Love” is believed to have cost more than $100 million to produce, and has held its own in a competitive entertainment market.

Could “Love” move to another venue in Las Vegas? Our sense is nope, and Lefebvre’s statement doesn’t leave much room for hope. “Final bow” literally has the word “final” in it. See also “final months.”

We trust Cirque isn’t too broken up about this. The closure of “Love” helps with some big picture market saturation issues Cirque faces.

There are more announcements to come from Mirage. We trust there will also be an announcement from headliner Shin Lim. We shared this heads up a few days before the “Love” closure was confirmed.

There are lots of questions related to the Mirage timeline, and you’ll know when we do.

Our best advice is don’t wait to enjoy all your favorite Mirage things, including the volcano show or visiting the mermaid statues near the hotel entrance for some consensual good luck.

The good news is there’s lots of new and shiny ahead for Mirage, and while it’s going to take some time to get used to calling it the Hard Rock, we think it will be worth it.

Update (4/9/24): Here’s an internal communication sent to Mirage employees.

Don’t ask us why everyone involved with “Love” seems to suffer from Tourette Syndrome. This is a stylistic affectation up with which we will not put.