Circus is culture - that’s the message behind the work of the European Circus Association, which counts more than 100 leading European circuses among its members. Thus it was a special honor for PLAYMOBIL’s Chief Executive, Andrea Schauer, to receive the ECA-award for the 2007 new PLAYMOBIL-Circus during the International Toy Fair in Nuremberg. Arie Oudenes, managing director of the ECA stated that for many years, Playmobil has made it easy for children (and some bigger ones, too!) to ‘act a part’ in their own version of the circus.“ Geobra Brandstätter as manufacturer of PLAYMOBIL has fostered the European Circus Culture through their realistic and creative play worlds. The first PLAYMOBIL circus models had appeared as far back as 1978, when a box office waggon, musicians, clowns, a cage wagon and a performance cage with lions, and a circus caravan were brought on the market. border="0">

Since that date, repeated updates have kept the Playmobil circus at the forefront of our imagination. The latest addition to the range has a cage waggon with extending compartments to give the animals extra living space, and an exterior ‘playground’ cage with enrichment materials for lions and tigers to play with and to sharpen their claws.” Oudenes lauded that the PLAYMOBIL-designers have realized the circus theme “just like the 21st- century ‘real thing’”! After having been launched in Germany and selected European countries in 2007, the new PLAYMOBIL circus sets will be marketed worldwide in the second half of this year.

In addition to this ECA-recognition the new PLAYMOBIL-circus theme has already received two important accolades in its homemarket: The German Toy Retailer Association (BVS) has selected the circus among the “Top Ten Toys 2007” and it was granted the award “Product of the Year 2008” by the German Association of the plastics manufacturing Industry.