PHOTO Flash: THE LION KING Hits Madrid in October 2011

At the event, Brown Lindiwe Mkhize, who plays Rafiki in the West End production, performed 'Circle of Life,' while and Andile Gumbi, the West End's Simba, and Jessica Mears, Hamburg's Nala, performed 'Can You Feel The Love Tonight' in Spanish.

THE LION KING began as a 1994 animated feature-length film developed and produced by the Walt Disney Company. On stage, Director Julie Taymor's creative vision blends elements of African art and Broadway artisanship to depict anthropomorphic animal characters. The story, a coming of age parable set among animals indigenous to its setting, the African savanna, tells the tale of Simba, the lion cub who rises to be the King of the jungle.

THE LION KING has been seen by more than 55 million people in 13 different countries and has been translated into five different languages (Japanese, German, Korean, French, Dutch).