Cirque du Soleil “O” at the Bellagio: what the ticket from €98.57 gets you and who the water show isn’t for
Updated September 11, 2026 · 6 min read
Of the Las Vegas activities we source from GetYourGuide, “O” has the most reviews in the Shows category: 1,994, averaging 4.8 stars. Across all activities, that puts it in sixth place. More reviews go to, among others, the High Roller and the ticket for “The Wizard of Oz” at the Sphere.
Tickets start from €98.57 per person. That’s the entry-level price. The booking page itself states that the final price varies by date, group size and availability. The amounts guests mention in their reviews are considerably higher: one guest paid $382 for two balcony seats, and a couple paid “almost $400”. The ticket is non-refundable.
The booking page promises acrobats, swimmers and water as the main character. It doesn’t say where you’ll be sitting, why part of the audience goes home disappointed, or who’s better off choosing one of the other big shows. That’s what this article covers.
What you’re actually watching
“O” has been running at the Bellagio since 15 October 1998. The show opened alongside the hotel and, according to Cirque du Soleil, has since been seen by more than 20 million spectators. The name is a play on words: “O” sounds like the French “eau”, water.
The stage is a pool. According to Cirque du Soleil, it is 25 feet deep, about 7.6 metres, filled with 17 feet of water, about 5.2 metres, and holds 1.5 million gallons, just under 5.7 million litres. Each performance needs 75 performers and 130 technicians, including 14 divers who work below the surface. Eight of the performers are, according to Cirque, Olympians: seven from artistic swimming, one from diving.
The water is both stage and backdrop. Acrobats fly above the pool, divers plunge into the water from tall rigs, and artistic swimmers surface and dive again. The booking page also mentions a guardian who sails across the water on an upturned umbrella, and a man who strolls along calmly while on fire.
There is a framing story: according to Cirque du Soleil, the audience follows a Sicilian boy named Philemon into a dream world. Anyone expecting a plot to follow as in a theatre production, though, will struggle to find one. That’s one of the most common complaints in the negative reviews — more on that below.
How long it lasts and what it costs
The performance lasts 90 minutes with no interval. That sounds like a minor detail, but it’s practical: use the toilet beforehand, for children and adults alike. The booking page only shows start times once you select a date.
According to the booking page, the ticket covers admission only. Drinks at the Bellagio are extra, and they aren’t cheap: one couple writes that they paid $60 for two drinks. The meeting point is the Bellagio itself, 3600 S Las Vegas Blvd, right on the Strip.
Be on time. One guest describes latecomers being led to their seats with bright lights and loud instructions. That’s uncomfortable for the latecomers and disruptive for everyone already seated.
Because the ticket is non-refundable, “O” doesn’t belong on the evening after a long excursion. The Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam bus tour takes ten hours, and even a traffic jam on the way back can cost you the evening. Schedule the show on a day when you’re staying in the city.
Where you’ll sit isn’t on the booking page
The booking page doesn’t say how seats are allocated or which seating category the entry-level price covers. Several critical reviews hinge on exactly that:
- The guest who paid $382 for two seats sat on the balcony and, by their own account, had a restricted view.
- One guest, writing in Portuguese, says the seating chart at the time of purchase led them to expect different seats from the ones on the tickets. In the end, the couple sat in the front row directly in front of the stage and, by their own account, had a poor view.
- Another guest writes that they could neither see nor hear properly from their seats, and left halfway through the performance.
So the front row isn’t automatically the best seat at “O”. Anyone who wants a specific area should ask the operator before buying which category the ticket covers — or book somewhere that shows a seating chart with the exact seat before you pay.
With children
Children under five are not admitted. That’s stated on the booking page and in Cirque du Soleil’s own FAQ. Minors may only attend accompanied by an adult. The booking page explicitly describes “O” as family-friendly.
Cirque du Soleil also states, however, that the show has loud noises and longer dark passages that can frighten some children. A five-year-old who’s afraid of the dark will be sitting through 90 minutes without an interval, with dark passages and loud effects. For that child, “O” isn’t a good idea. For children who enjoy swimming and diving themselves, on the other hand, the divers and artistic swimmers are the obvious highlight. Even guests who didn’t like the rest of the show praise this part specifically.
For a family of four, the evening costs from €394.28, before drinks or food are added. Which evenings are cheaper is covered in the Las Vegas family budget. What else works well with children aged six to twelve is covered in Las Vegas with kids aged 6 to 12.
Who “O” isn’t for
“O” has 4.8 stars. In the separate value for money rating, though, the show scores only 4.4. The critical reviews repeat three points:
No discernible story. “No plot”, “doesn’t make sense”, “random” appear in several one- and two-star reviews. Anyone expecting a narrative from the evening should choose a different show.
The clowns. Several guests cite the two clowns as the reason the evening didn’t work for them. According to one guest, they slow the show’s pace down, and their humour doesn’t land with everyone.
Art rather than constant spectacle. A review from August 2026 expected high-performance acrobatics and, in their own words, got “overlong experimental theatre” instead. Anyone seeking pace and adrenaline is better off elsewhere.
There are also individual cases worth knowing about: in 2025, two guests report cancelled performances, and a third reports a show that ended about 35 minutes early due to technical problems. What happens then to a non-refundable ticket isn’t stated on the booking page. Clarify that with the operator before you buy.
“O”, “Michael Jackson ONE” or “KÀ”?
We have three Cirque du Soleil productions in our listings, plus the Sphere as a technological counterpoint:
| “O” | “Michael Jackson ONE” | “KÀ” | Sphere “The Wizard of Oz” | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Bellagio | Mandalay Bay | MGM Grand | Sphere, behind the Venetian |
| From | €98.57 | €92.94 | €64.77 | €106.79 |
| Reviews | 1,994 | 1,435 | 460 | 2,608 |
| Duration | 90 minutes | 1.5 hours | 1.5 hours | 75 minutes |
| Children | from age 5 | from age 5 | see booking page | intended by the Sphere for age 6 and up |
| What | Water stage, acrobatics, divers | Acrobatics and dance to Michael Jackson’s music | Twins on a dangerous journey, martial arts, pyrotechnics | Film with in-auditorium effects |
“Michael Jackson ONE” is the choice for anyone who would miss a clear thread in “O”. According to the booking page, four outsiders follow the music of their idol, and the songs carry the evening. Unlike with “O”, the booking page here explicitly states that all booking fees are included in the price.
“KÀ” at the MGM Grand is the cheapest of the three in our listings, from €64.77. The booking page describes a story about twins featuring martial arts, puppetry, video projection and pyrotechnics. Anyone looking for plot and action is, going by this description, closer to it here than with “O”.
The Sphere isn’t a circus but a film in a dome with wind, fog and vibrating seats. That’s technology, not artistry.
“O” remains the show for anyone looking for images rather than a story: water, light, and people diving in from a great height. You can compare all tickets with current prices at Las Vegas Shows and Tickets. What else is worth seeing on the Strip is covered in What to See in Las Vegas.
