SunTrip

MOSCOW (AFP) – The circus show Cirque du Soleil has sold 80,000 tickets for its debut Russian tour, founder Guy Laliberte said on Tuesday.

Laliberte, who last month became the seventh person to spend millions of dollars to become a "space tourist", said he was confident the show would do well.

Cirque du Soleil has decided to extend its Russian tour by two weeks, with the run ending on December 13.

"I hope we will do well. It's looking good at the moment, because we've sold 80,000 tickets already," Laliberte told AFP.

"Russia has a strong circus tradition. This is a good place for Cirque du Soleil."

Laliberte's company has set up a Russian subsidiary, Cirque du Soleil Rus, to promote the show in the country, and he said 20 percent of the Cirque's performers were Russian.

The Canadian billionaire, a former fire-eater and stilt-walker, enjoyed a two-week trip to the International Space Station at the end of last month, returning to earth on October 11.