Showman can have a variety of meanings, usually by context and depending on the country. Marchands forains

Australia

Travelling showmen ("showies") are people who run amusement and side show equipment at regional shows, state capital shows, events and festivals throughout

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. In the past, the term has also been used for the people who organized

freak show A freak show is an exhibition of biological rarities, referred to in popular culture as "Freak, freaks of nature". Typical features would be physically unusual Human#Anatomy and physiology, humans, such as those uncommonly large or small, t ...

sideshow In North America, a sideshow is an extra, secondary production associated with a circus, traveling carnival, carnival, fair, or other such attraction. They historically featured human oddity exhibits (so-called “Freak show, freak shows”), pr ...

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicy ...

es, travelling theatre troupes and boxing tents. In Australia, there are around 500 travelling show families, Australian travelling show families in the Eastern states have a travelling School that has approximately 90 children.

Ireland

Family names associated with funfairs in Ireland include Fox-McFadden, Cassells, Cullen, McFadden, Murray, Bird, Perks and Bell. Turbetts, Hudsons, McCormacks, McGurk, Wilmots and Grahams are associated with coastal amusements, particularly in the west of the country.

Turkey

"Showman" ( in Turkish) refers to a talk show host in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

United Kingdom

In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, showmen are a community intrinsically linked to the businesses they operate, such as funfairs and circuses. The Showmen's Guild of Great Britain is the most dominant

trade association A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific Industry (economics), industry. Through collabor ...

, with a membership of around 4,700 and a total collective of 25,000 showmen and -women in the industry. The head of the family is the President.Showmen's Guild of Great Britain Central Office
For example, the Guild co-organizes St Giles' Fair in

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

with Oxford City Council each September, alongside a number of other fairs and events across the UK. A large amount of major events in the UK have a fairground element incorporated, such as the Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park, Leeds Festival and Edinburgh's Festive offering, to name a few. Whilst the Showmen's Guild of Great Britain (SGGB) stands as the largest trade association, there are other, smaller industry bodies such as the Association of Independent Showmen (AIS) and Society of Independent Roundabout Proprietors (SIRPS).

United States

Those of the traveling circus (

traveling carnival A traveling carnival (American English), usually simply called a carnival, travelling funfair or travelling show (British English), is an amusement show that may be made up of List of amusement rides, amusement rides, food vendors, merchandi ...

)—'' carnies'' are comparable to Showmen but in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, the term ''showman'' primarily refers to male dancers ( showgirls being the female equivalent). The term ''showman'' or ''show people'', can also be meant as a superlative or complimentary term, sometimes as an accolade or quasi-title, such as in the documentary name '' Harry Saltzman: Showman''.

References