BURST
A new poll shows that the Honda Celebration of Light is a public event that Vancouverites feel connected to, appreciate and want to see illuminate the night skies year after year.
“The poll shows that this event is an iconic part of Vancouver. When you look at how people rank it relative to other annual celebrations, like Canada Day at Canada Place, the PNE and the Sun Run, it’s in the top two or three. It’s a very well-regarded event,” said Steve Mossop, executive vice-president of Leger, the market research group that conducted the poll.
The findings show very strong support for keeping the annual three-night event.
“It’s one of the last fun things that the city does, and it’s a free event,” said Mossop. “It’s something everybody looks forward to.”
The Leger Metro Vancouver Omnibus study, conducted among 504 Metro Vancouver residents between Aug. 1-4, shows widespread support for the Honda Celebration of Light.
Nearly all Metro Vancouver residents (97 per cent) are familiar with the festival, and over three quarters (77 per cent) say they have attended the event.
“The findings show there is strong support for keeping it alive and funding it at different levels, private sponsors or ticket sales, whether it’s cordoned-off or VIP sections,” said Mossop.
According to the poll, 73 per cent of respondents say the Honda Celebration of Light festival is important to Metro Vancouver’s identity and culture, and local economy. If the festival were to be cancelled due to decreased funding, nearly four-in-five Metro Vancouver residents say this would have a negative impact on both Metro Vancouver’s identity and culture (77 per cent), and its local economy (79 per cent).
“Even in this era of increased taxes, we see an overwhelming amount of support for increased public funding from all sources. The support for this is universal. You don’t often see that,” said Mossop.
“We have the label of the no-fun city,” said Mossop, who is a longtime attendee. “The cancellation of the folk festival, the fireworks at Canada Place at New Year’s, the Dragonboat festival is temporarily cancelled. There is this aura in Vancouver that we can’t afford to do anything fun. How is this happening to our city?”
According to the poll, 74 per cent of Metro Vancouver residents support government funding for the festival. Support is highest for private sponsors to increase their funding (66 per cent), but one-third of Metro Vancouver residents note that various government bodies, including the federal, provincial and municipal (City of Vancouver and the Metro Vancouver Regional District) governments, should increase their funding for the festival (33-40 per cent), or it should stay the same (40-45 per cent).
Organizers of the Honda Celebration of Light said in July that soaring costs and the loss of public and private funding have pushed Vancouver’s summer fireworks extravaganza to the brink.
Provincial support for the fireworks festival is set to drop from $250,000 to $100,000 next year, while federal funding fell from $450,000 in 2023 to $250,000 last year and has been cut entirely for 2026, according to producer Paul Runnels.
More than two-thirds (68 per cent) of Metro Vancouver residents note that it is unfair that events on the West Coast, like the Honda Celebration of Light, receive less federal funding when compared to other events across the country. For example, the Calgary Stampede receives $10 million to $12 million, Montreal Pride and Festival International de Jazz de Montréal each get $1.5 million, and $3.5 million goes to the Toronto Caribbean Carnival.
The annual Celebration of Light draws more than 1.5 million visitors and generates $40 million in economic activity for B.C., primarily through tourism and hospitality spending.
— With Vancouver Sun Files