Surveyor Peery Blainey lays out the foot print for Cirque du Soleil’s Grand Chapiteau (Big Top) at the Santa Monica Pier parking lot on Wednesday, January 4, 2012.

The Grand Chapiteau will stand 66 feet high and is 167 feet in diameter. The 4 masts stand at 80 feet tall each. 550 pegs are required to hold the Grand Chapiteau firmly to the 4,500 square metres of asphalt. The Grand Chapiteau can accommodate more than 2,500 people. The entire site set-up takes 7 days. This includes installation of entrance, hospitality and rehearsal tents, box office, administrative offices and kitchen.

The Grand Chapiteau, the Tapis Rouge and Artistic tents are all climate controlled with air conditioning in warm seasons or heating for colder seasons. The Grand Chapiteau travels via 61 trailers carrying more than 1,000 tons of equipment for the tour.