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Since childhood Karl Nidermayer was electrified when the Circus came to town. The sparkly world of circus meant an enormous attraction to him and while other boys dreamt of becoming a train driver or a forester, little Karl only wanted to be a Circus director. But first it didn’t come off: He got into the parental business and learnt the trade of building acoustic instruments. He finished with the master’s certificate. Therefore Karl Nidermayer was already 36 years old, when he seriously began to make his dream come true. In the summer of 1985 he trooped together some of his friends and unveiled his idea to found a circus. Some considered him crazy, but also crazy enough to put his idea into action. And they joined in!
Most of them are still loyal members of the “Circus Sambesi”, as the project was named, even though they are only seldom in the spotlight: They get blasts and scratches while pitching and striking the tent or they manage the techniques behind the scenes. Of course a Circus lives on the artists, clowns and acrobats.
And Karl Nidermayer made a find: He was able to gather artists together, who were willing to show their artistry solely for applause.

The name Circus Sambesi already gives it away: Karl Nidermayer feels a special attraction towards the African continent, which he visited several times on his own initiative. He crossed the deserts of the North with an Unimog, he travelled through the Calahari in the South and he explored the whole continent from the Horn of Africa to the dark heart of Congo in exhausting tours. Two different things deeply impressed Karl Nidermayer: The unbroken enjoyment of life on the one hand and the depressing poverty and evident misery on the other hand.
In the charity “Menschen für Menschen” by Karl-Heinz Böhm, Karl Nidermayer found an organisation he could identify with and he put his Circus Sambesi under this commission. Karl-Heinz Böhm, the former movie star said goodbye to glamour and now spends his time with developmental aid in Ethiopia, one of the poorest countries in the world. The ethical foundation provides help through guidance to self-help and a refusal of religious and ideological guidelines.
In 1987 Karl Nidermayer bought a tent in Italy, which since then is the home of the Circus Sambesi, when it goes on tour through northern Bavaria. Nidermayer bears the ongoing maintenance costs all by himself. The staff members give all their manpower and time voluntarily. Also the artists are content with the few times in the year, when this really extraordinary community comes together and enjoys the applause of the audience.
The access is free for the Circus Sambesi’s shows, but afterwards the assistants politely ask for donations, which go without any deduction to the charity “Menschen für Menschen”.
Up to now there have been congregated more than half a million euros, which are also from donations by companies or private persons.