No fireworks city: Vancouver's New Year's Eve event cancelled again

The huge free street party and fireworks display in downtown Vancouver that rang in yesteryears will not be coming back for 2024.

In a statement on its website Thursday, the Vancouver New Years Eve Society announced that the Dec. 31, 2023 event has been cancelled.

“We are deeply disappointed to not be able to put on an event for a city as awesome as Vancouver,” said Dani Pretto, chair of the non-profit Vancouver New Year’s Eve Society.

“We feel that it needs a spectacular show at midnight on New Year’s Eve so it’s heart-breaking for us.”

Pretto told CTV News she and her team reached out to more than one hundred businesses over the past month but couldn’t generate enough sponsorship support.

The title sponsor, Concord, told CTV News it’s also disappointed to hear the news.

“We are sad to hear that it couldn’t come together,” said spokesperson Peter Udzenija,

“It’s an expensive endeavor and a lot of work for the society. We offered to double our commitment from the last year it ran, but that doesn’t even cover half the costs.”

The last time the “Concord’s New Year's Eve” party happened was in 2018—celebrating the arrival of 2019.

Pretto told CTV News costs have increased 20 to 30 per cent since the pandemic and estimates it would cost around $1 million to put on the event.

The society announced in 2019 that it would be taking a one-year hiatus to move the celebration from Coal Harbour to False Creek. Then the pandemic hit, and the fireworks show hasn’t returned since.

On a similar note, this year’s Santa Claus Parade was cancelled(opens in a new tab) for the fourth year in a row, the organizers saying they weren’t able to find a title sponsor for thle event.

So those hoping to ring in the new year by watching the fireworks in downtown Vancouver will have to wait until at least 425 days—the event’s website now features a “Countdown to 2025.”

Despite the countdown, Pretto told CTV News she’s not optimistic the fireworks will return in 2025.

Earlier this year, the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority canceled its Canada Day fireworks for similar reasons. The Santa Clauid Parade has also been cancelled due to a dearth of sponsorship 

Coun. Pete Fry said the mayor and council are aware of the troubling trend of major events being cancelled. 

“I think if indeed it comes down to security costs that are the big bug bear that are knocking these events out, maybe we need to have a conversation about how the city of Vancouver can maybe offset some of those costs,” said Fry.