Summer evenings have gotten a little darker with the cancellation of Vancouver’s annual fireworks festival.
The Honda Celebration of Light, which takes place across three nights in late July and early August, has ended indefinitely due to a lack of funding according to the non-profit Vancouver Fireworks Festival Society.
According to the society, it costs approximately $3 million CAD annually to host the show, with funding provided by federal, provincial, municipal, and private sources.
The society had made many attempts at securing additional money from all levels of government and businesses, but with no success.
Vancouver mayor Ken Sim expressed his disappointment in a statement on Instagram. The city commits $1.6 million CAD towards the Honda Celebration of Light, and calls upon the federal and provincial governments to “restore this funding.”
Founded in 1990 as the Benson and Hedges Symphony of Fire –named in part of major tobacco company — would welcome three pyrotechnics companies representing their home nations to put on a fireworks show set to music. One country would perform each evening, with a fourth night culminating in a “Grande Finale.” When Canadian law was changed to eliminate cigarette sponsorship and advertising, the festival renamed itself as the Celebration of Light. Automotive giant Honda’s Canadian branch stepped in to finance the program but costs continued to mount and the four nights were slashed to three. In subsequent years, to boost income, the festival added premium seating and dining areas to recoup losses in income.
It’s estimated half-a-million people converge on downtown Vancouver and Kitsilano to take in the spectacle during each nightly performance. Despite a boost to the local economy through dining and hotel stays, residents often complained about increased noise, pollution, parking restrictions, and throngs of people packing the roadways at the close of each show.
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