As Vancouver rings in another New Year without fireworks, some suggest alternative light shows

Crowds gathered in Coal Harbour on New Year's Eve even though no fireworks lit up the sky when the clock struck midnight.

The pyrotechnics display, which used to be an annual event in the city was cancelled again this year due to a lack of sponsorship funding. The same fate has befallen the annual Canada Day fireworks display in the city, prompting some to question the future of these large-scale holiday displays in the city.

One Vancouver lawyer says doing away with them entirely would be a good thing.

"They're really an old-fashioned technology, “ said V. Victoria Shroff, who focuses on animal law.

“The loud bangs, the pollution they give off – both sound pollution and all the detritus that fireworks let off – are something that should be relegated to the past.”

But doing away with fireworks doesn't necessarily mean doing away with the dazzling displays entirely, says Jean-Michel Dentinger, the co-founder of Pixel Sky Animations, a company that uses hundreds of drones to put on nighttime light shows.

The technology is programmed through piloting software so that the machines fly autonomously in the sky.

"It's a lot more simple than a fireworks display, it's a lower risk with not having pyrotechnics involved. Just having a lot more use of technology and automation just makes the whole experience smoother and lot less cumbersome,” said Detinger.

"Drone light shows are seen as a more eco-friendly alternative to fireworks."

Despite drone shows posing a lower risk to wildlife, pets and the environment, Canada’s National Fireworks Association points out that drones are still considered the pricier option.

"Fireworks are felt with the nose, the eyes, the senses, which drones unfortunetely don't provide and they are increasingly cost prohibitive. When you look at the environment, you've got to be careful with drones, if you're on a flight path,” said Aleem Kanj, with the association.

Kanj says firework stores are required to offer pamphlets at the time of sale listing expectations for igniting firecrackers and the responsibility for clean-up that ensues.

“Vancouver and the Lower Mainlaind is bordered by a beautiful ocean and it’s important to follow the rules,” he said.

Kanj believes there’s room for different kinds of light displays for celebrations, and has no concerns about firework shows disappearing any time soon.

And that may be the case in Vancouver after all -- Concord’s New Year’s Eve Vancouver website says the committee behind the annual display plans to put on a fireworks show to ring in 2025.