ANDREW VAN BUREN
British circus artist who specialises in magic, large-scale illusions, juggling and plate spinning. He has worked in British venues including The Royal Albert Hall and Wembley Arena in London, as well as regularly performing on international cruise ships and presenting shows in the United Arab Emirates. During 2013 amongst other projects, Van Buren worked as magic-consultant and advisor on the show Houdini, which toured theatres in the UK. Andrew is the driving force & leading light curator of the Philip Astley Project – creating & uniting archives, exhibitions and events all celebrating in 2018 & beyond the 250th anniversary of the first modern circus ring.

ANTONIO GIAROLA
Director of the Educational Centre of Documentation of Circus Arts (CEDAC) and President of the National Association for the Development of Circus Arts. He is one of the founders of the Academy of Circus Art in Verona. He has been the director and artistic consultant of many circuses, including Herman Renz, the Florilegio of Darix Togni, Embell Riva and Nando Orfei while acting as the artistic director of the Verona and Latina circus festivals. He has been a consultant for the Ministry of Culture in Italy.

HELMUT GROSSCURTH
President of the German Circus Fans Association and Managing Director of the European Circus Association. Helmut Grosscurth interest and love for circus arts started in his young age. He was the editor of Circus Zeitung, the German Circus Fans’ monthly magazine, in 1981-83. He went on tour with Circus Roncalli in 1984 as public relation manager. Helmut Grosscurth and Dirk Kuik founded together the Circus Verlag publishing company and they publish Circus Zeitung since 1993. They published also the quarterly Planet Circus magazine during 20 years (1997-2017).

CHRISTIAN NOLENS
Member of the European Circus Association (ECA). Member of the E.E.I.G. European Collective for Performing Animals (Collectif Européen des Cirques) City Rights Signatory for Circus & Traveling Shows. Managing director of „On Stage Events-PRCom”: PR-consultant, editor and video producer (infotainment, circus commercials, city marketing). Liaison Officer at Farfadais & Co (Acrobats & Circus Company). Spokesperson at A.G. Spectacle Christian Nolens is a professional host/presenter in entertainment. In Belgium he has been a special guest-Ring Master for ‘Circus Bush-Roland’, ‘Circus Toni Boltini’, ‘Circo Il Florilegio’ and the ‘Chinese State Circus’. He is since 2014 particularly involved in the animal welfare and committed to the defence of both non-domesticated and domesticated animals in circus shows.

ZSUZSANNA MATA
Executive Director of the Fédération Mondiale du Cirque (FMC) and former director, today general adviser, of the European Circus Association (ECA). From 2003 she represented the Hungarian State Circus (MACIVA) in the Board of Directors of ECA, from 2009 worked as advisor in the board of directors of FMC. Economist and diplomat by profession she started working for the Hungarian State Circus (MACIVA) in 1988. For 6 years she was Head of the International Department and from 1992 also acted as Head of the Artistic Department of the company. Mrs. Mata is one of the founders of the Budapest International Circus Festival and, since its first edition in 1996, has been member of the Organizing Committee of the Festival. She passionately loves circus and has vast experience in the circus world, being determined to dedicate her knowledge and energy to the mission of the FMC and the fulfilment of its goals. Mrs. Mata’s contribution to circus art was recognized by the state award “The Silver Merit Cross of the Republic of Hungary” in 2005. She is author of several books and articles on circus issues.

ALESSANDRO SERENA
Professor of History of the Circus and Street Performances at the University of Milan. He comes from an ancient circus family, dedicated himself to studies and research on the culture and history of this form of show, graduating at the DAMS of Bologna with honours. His writings on circus and on the performing arts have appeared on numerous specialized periodicals. He has held institutional roles at the Circhi National Agency and the Circus Academy. Reasons for study and work often lead him to travel the world looking for new talents of any circus discipline or to be part of juries or official delegations of industry events.

ARIE OUDENES
Member of the Dutch Association of Circus Friends and has served as secretary of the VNCO (Association of Dutch Circus Enterprises). From 2002 to 2012, he was Director of the European Circus Association. Currently, he is the chairman of the Foundation for Circus Culture in the Netherlands. In order to reach that goal, a partnership has been formed in which all organizations involved in the circus cooperate – in addition to professional circuses, the partnership includes youth circuses, vocational training organisations, circus friends, and museums with particular circus collections. He is also an avid collector of circus toys.

ROLAND VERMEYLEN
Co-founder and CEO of Circusschool Leuven, member of the board of Circuscentrum (Center for circus by the Minister of Culture). He is the director of the Center for organization development at University Hospitals Leuven. An organizational psychologist by training, he obtained an MBA of organization development from the University of Leuven and the University of Hasselt. Mr. Vermeylen is the author and editor of ‘De Piste’ (Dutch Circus Magazine) while working as a journalist of De Standaard (most important Belgian newspaper) and of the Flemish Circusmagazine.

TAMÁS LAJOS SZALAY
Coordinator of BTL-programme & on-site inspector
Tamás Lajos Szalay worked as a journalist for more than fifteen years, including as a parliamentary correspondent. In addition to his bachelor’s degree in humanities, he holds degrees in Election Analysis and New Media Graphic Design and is also a qualified graphologist. He is an accomplished copywriter and an experienced professional in communications, marketing, and brand management, having completed short studies in these fields at the University of the Arts London and the University of Edinburgh Business School. For the past ten years, he served as Chief of Cabinet in Brussels for István Ujhelyi, who, during his tenure as a Member of the European Parliament, initiated the BigTopLabel program and oversaw its development. Tamás Lajos Szalay has been involved in the project from the beginning, serving as its coordinator and on-site inspector. Mr. Szalay is currently a strategic and creative consultant at Capital European Affairs, the Brussels-based consultancy group that operates the BigTopLabel project.