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Legendary clown Popov to be buried in Germany — official

Oleg Popov died on Wednesday evening in Rostov-on-Don (southern Russia) at the age of 86

© Ruslan Shamukov/TASS

MOSCOW, November 3. /TASS/. An open-casket funeral service for those willing to pay their last respects to Russia’s world-famous clown, Oleg Popov, who passed away on November 2 will most likely be held in the Rostov-on-Don circus on Monday, November 7. The prominent circus performer will be interred in Germany, Dmitry Ivanov, Director General of the Russian State Circus Company, informed TASS on Thursday.

Oleg Popov at his home near Nuremberg, Germany, 2000 AP Photo/Frank Boxler

Oleg Popov at his home near Nuremberg, Germany, 2000

© AP Photo/Frank Boxler

"The burial is sure to be held in Germany," he said. "An open-casket ceremony to pay one’s last respects to Oleg Popov is likely to take place on Monday in the Rostov-on-Don circus. Immediately after that, the casket will be delivered to Germany."

Meanwhile, the participants in the World Festival of Clowns due to be held in Yekaterinburg from November 24 to November to 27, will pay homage to the prominent clown, one of the festival’s organizers and Director of the Yekaterinburg circus, Anatoly Marchevsky, told TASS.

He noted that Oleg Popov had planned to attend the festival as a guest. According to Marchevsky, Popov widely known as the ‘sunshine clown’ was one of the first Russian circus performers to gain international recognition. "Popov opened up his own page in international clownery. He is a legend in our national circus. He was a bright personality, a gifted person, ‘ray of sunshine’, and, thanks to him, our culture was represented in the international circus arena," Marchevsky said.

Oleg Popov and a circus goat, 1968 Vyacheslav Un Da-sin/TASS

Oleg Popov and a circus goat, 1968

© Vyacheslav Un Da-sin/TASS

Oleg Popov died on Wednesday evening in Rostov-on-Don (southern Russia) at the age of 86. He moved to Germany in 1991 and lived in the Bavarian town of Eggloffstein with his wife Gabrielle, also a circus performer.

Last year he visited Russia for the first time following an almost 25-year hiatus.

The ‘sunshine clown’ performed in circus arenas until the last days of his life. Last winter, Popov began a tour of Russia, performing in St. Petersburg, Saratov (the Volga region) and Rostov-on-Don.

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