Vancouver’s annual fireworks competition that brightens the evening skies of English Bay is being called off this year. The Honda Celebration of Light would normally see three countries participating in a 30 minute pyrotechnical display set to music in late July or early August.

As the show packs between 300,000 to 400,000 people on the beaches and parks surrounding English Bay, organizers made the decision to call off this year’s plans under guidance from local health authorities.

The announcement was posted to the official Honda Celebration of Light’s web site today.

The statement reads:

For thirty years, the Honda Celebration of Light has been welcoming in excess of 1.3 million people annually to experience the magic of this free family event, the longest-running offshore fireworks competition in the world.

Our team has been following guidance from the relevant government authorities and cautiously preparing for our summer event. However, recent comments made by health authorities indicate we must accept the reality that our event will not happen as planned in July 2020.

We are exploring options for a different type of celebration in 2020 and hope to be able to make an announcement very soon. In the meantime, we wish to thank our many partners, sponsors, participating countries and our millions of fans for their ongoing support.

Stay safe and healthy, and we look forward to uniting our community and looking skyward, together, one day in the future.

The organizing group behind the event is looking at other opportunities to keep Vancouver entertained in light of current recommendations and is expected to share an update soon.

The evening fireworks is a world-renowned event, running for 30 years, and previously known as the Benson and Hedges Symphony of Fire before Canadian law was altered to ban advertising from tobacco companies. The colourful explosions originally ran over four evenings with all three countries taking part in a “grand finale” on the fourth night, before being reduced to three in an effort to cut costs.

Source: Honda Celebration of Light

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