The joy of the circus is in seeing what next act will make you gasp, fill you with surprise and make you laugh at the spectacle of it all.

Today’s act at Oracle OpenWorld? An Oracle source now says that Marc Benioff’s keynote did not get cancelled. It has instead been moved to make way for an oversold customer event. Instead they say, Benioff has a slot to speak on Thursday at a sideshow event.

Don’t you love it? Oracle uses its customers to puff out its chest and declare its power. They it says they are not the ones who cancelled it. They’ve just moved it off the big stage to a day with no other keynotes at a time when many attendees are going to the airport. It’s a classic game of manipulation. By turning it on Benioff, Oracle’s public relations team is saying they are not the ones to blame.

But this is not a blame game. By inferring that it is, Oracle is essentially admitting that it acted in manipulative manner.

Reuters is reporting the story but it first showed up last night in an All Things D post that followed our coverage. If you are late to the party, Benioff tweeted last night that Oracle had cancelled his 10:30 a.m.keynote address.

Benioff, in classic fashion, is doing his own keynote address at the St. Regis Hotel this morning. We’ll be there for a show that will sure to be filled with all the fun and ridiculousness that comes with a circus act. Tune into our online TV show The Cube to watch the festivities.

Services Angle

The show will go on. The swing to cloud services is getting to Larry Ellison and is affecting the Oracle empire. It is why we are seeing the circus rings filling with billion dollar carnival games.

For now, it is all coming to an end. Tomorrow will be one of those sad days that comes when the big top empties out and the crowds go home. The rings will be empty. But the circus doors will still be open. Oracle says they have given Benioff the stage.

Send in the clowns.