On February 4th, Vancouver City Council passed a motion to hold a one-night fireworks display this summer. The motion was put forward by Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim following the cancellation of the Celebration of Light fireworks display.
The Celebration of Light was a three-day annual fireworks display held at English Bay in downtown Vancouver. It was a large-scale event that attracted approximately 400,000 people each day, but in November of last year, organizers decided to cancel the event indefinitely, citing financial difficulties due to cuts in subsidies from the federal and provincial governments.
Mayor Sim’s motion calls for a $2 million one-day fireworks display to serve as a bridge to the revival of the Celebration of Light. The City of Vancouver already has $1.4 million budgeted for the 2026 Celebration of Light, so the additional budget would only be $600,000. Councillors Pete Fry of the Green Party and Councillor Sean Orr of COPE voted against the proposal, criticising the lack of a clear business plan for the event and a realistic path to reviving the Celebration of Light. He also questioned the move at a time of austerity and ongoing cuts to city staff.
With the motion now in place, city officials are expected to submit concrete plans for the event by spring. The Honda Celebration of Light began in 1990 as Symphony of Fire. Every year, three to four countries from overseas participate in the international fireworks competition to determine the winning team. Honda became the main sponsor in the 2000s, and the current name was adopted.
Due to financial constraints, the 2025 event will feature three Canadian teams for the first time. Before the spread of COVID-19, Vancouver used to have fireworks displays on New Year’s Eve and Canada Day on July 1st, but these were cancelled after the coronavirus outbreak.