Las Vegas Weekly

October 8, 2009 · 10:25 AM

Guy Laliberte produces first video blog from outer space

By Robin Leach

Guy Laliberte.

Photo: One Drop

Guy Laliberte is halfway through his 12-day Expedition 21 mission in outer space, and the casts of his six Cirque du Soleil Las Vegas shows are following every moment of the fantastic flight. The Cirque du Soleil founder paid $35 million to become the first Canadian businessman to fly to the International Space Station on a Soyuz 16 rocket ship, and now he’s produced his first video blog from the cosmos:

It’s the 190th day of his space-related training and flight program. He is due to return to Earth early this Saturday after tomorrow’s farewell ceremony, undocking and re-entry. Click HERE for our earlier story of Guy’s amazing undertaking.

Even more extraordinary is the plan tomorrow to celebrate his Poetic Social Mission to space with a two-hour satellite spectacular that will be shown free worldwide, including throughout Las Vegas for residents and tourists. The “Moving Stars and Earth for Water” special will be shown live and include Guy himself broadcasting from the International Space Station and Cirque du Soleil performers here and in Florida. Repeat broadcasts will air all weekend long.

The 120-minute global event was created in conjunction with Guy’s One Drop Foundation to raise awareness through artistic illustration of the humanitarian struggles and solutions associated with water. “Moving Stars and Earth for Water” will take place simultaneously in Montreal, Moscow, Santa Monica, New York City, Johannesburg, Mumbai, Marrakesh, Sydney, Osaka, Tampa, Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, Paris and London and from Guy onboard the International Space Station.

U2, Matthew McConaughey, Salma Hayek, Shakira, Peter Gabriel, Joss Stone, Al Gore and Cirque du Soleil performers who are celebrating their own 25th anniversary simultaneously are scheduled to appear during the special. Australian photographic artist Peter Lik, who is now headquartered in Las Vegas, also will appear.

The live viewings will take place here at the Springs Preserve and at the CSN Planetarium on the Cheyenne Campus from 5 to 7 p.m. tomorrow. Then as darkness falls, performers from Mystere will entertain with other Cirque du Soleil activities at Town Square at 6:30 p.m., with an outdoor delayed screening of the show from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. There will be screenings of select performances from the global special on the large LED screens at Fashion Show Mall and downtown on Fremont Street Experience. The global production will be screened in two parts on Sunday evening on the giant Viva Vision screens.

“Moving Stars and Earth for Water” also will be available in its entirety tomorrow starting at 5 p.m. on DirecTV Channel 101 and online at OneDrop.org.

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

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