Celebration of Light

Amazing! My partner and I took the Canadian Line to Yale Town and walked straight down Davie Street until we to English Bay. About a 20 minute or so walk.
We got down to English Bay and it was PACKED but well done to the Vancouver PD. Everything was super organized and safe. This event was thought to bring thousands & thousands of people and they definitely were right!
The show was amazing! Canada came out and showed out, for sure! I’ve gone to a lot of firework shows and often people leave disappointed, not tonight.
I can’t wait until the next Celebration of Lights!

Great event, the amount of work that goes into it, and the economic spinoffs for the city, with over 100,000 people strong.
Still surprised that tourists will come here just for this, as my hotel clients would tell me. I certainly wouldn’t drive all the way to Seattle just for this lol.
How people can come here early in the afternoon to reserve the best spot on the beach at the logs, in English Bay, is beyond me. My hat’s off to them, as they can afford to spend a day reading, playing cards, surfing on the internet, while the main show starts 10pm when it’s dark enough.
My trick these past few years to come via Science World side. sure, you’re away from the action but easy to get in and get out. And still a great view.

FIREWORKS.
I’ve seen the Celebration of Light twice now, and I love it. This is now a family tradition. You can pay for a ticket to reserve a seat on a bleacher or join the thousands who grab a blanket or lawn chair and park a squat or stand in the street for free for the same — or better — view. Bring a picnic and some cards and make a day of it.
This is a must do Vancouver situation, held the last week of July/​first week of August.
Make sure to bring a radio to hear the music much better vs. through the speakers broadcast through the crowds.
Be prepared to deal with the throngs of people walking afterwards and not finding a cab. You’ll be pumped from the show (s) you see anyway to give you the boost to hike to your vehicle.

A vancouver summer tradition. Grab some friends and head to English Bay or Vanier Park and enjoy the fireworks. I’ve been doing this for years now and it never gets old. Usually we view the show from Vanier Park but the lure of a free Mother Mother gig got us down to English Bay for the first time and I have to say… the view is better. You’re seeing the show as they intended for you to see it.
Remember to bring a blanket and arrive earliesh if you want to get an ok spot.

I kept my Ugly Americanism to myself at the time, but any local 4^th of July show and certainly Disneyland and Epcot could teach the competing countries a thing or two about building wonder in a fireworks display. There must not have been music — not broadcast over the beach nor did I catch snippets from radios or restaurants — that’s a major mistake. I was looking forward to the collective oohs and aahs of 300,000 people, but it didn’t happen. We thought we were so lucky to be there for the UK’s show, but we should have let One Direction (also there for one night) represent them. I stressed over vantage points in Stanley Park, and could have reserved grandstand seating, but wiggling, not even shuffling, off the beach was kind of fun. I didn’t see any drunks, and the policemen just stood around posing for pictures — my butt didn’t even get accidentally brushed!
Maybe it was fun for the people who played the volleyball tournament, or enjoyed listening to the bands during the day, but I wouldn’t see this again except from atop a penthouse terrace.

I appreciate the idea and that there is something free for the city to do, however, the trip there and back is not worth it for me personally. I used to enjoy it when it was a safe family event in which my mom, dad and sister used to go but now it’s a drunken gong show. Unless you know someone with a patio or a viewing spot, this isn’t worth it for me. Just an excuse to get drunk like a sailor and look at pretty lights. The type of people aside from friendly families has diminished the enjoyment of this event for me. The shame is that we are so lucky to have such a beautiful event but stupid people ruin it ’cause they can’t be reasonable and responsible.

While I have not officially purchased a ticket, I have seen The Celebration of Lights twice: 2012 (Italy) and 2013 (Thailand). I have viewed the show from the beach and I do recommend arriving early to claim a spot since it does fill up fast.
When I watched Italy’s show, it was very impressive. I liked the finale, which lit up the sky pretty bright. As for Thailand’s display, I was a bit disappointed. I’m not too crazy with the smiley face fireworks and there were points were the show lagged. Also, for some reason, the fireworks seemed dim.
Yes, it is a pain to get out after the show but it’s better to just hang around until its less crowded to leave the area.

I happened to be in Vancouver for the United Kingdom 2013 entry for the Celebration of lights. I honestly hadn’t heard of it until a couple days before the event. So I used my trusty friend — google. I googled and I got so excited that I had such a great opportunity being in Vancouver for work to be able to see this. How exciting!
Well… Not so exciting. I was so disappointed! I have seen other much better firework displays at other events! Yes it was cool to have the music to the fireworks — but again, this 4^th of July I saw a wonderful fireworks display to music that kicked the United Kingdom’s entry by far! For such a big thing you’d think the Celebration of Lights display would be WAY more awesome.
And the Mayhem wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be — thank goodness. Went with a friend to an AWESOME location she goes to each year and got a wonderful view of the show. We had to push our way through the crowds at the end to get home, but it wasn’t bad. Regardless of the fact I expected better — it is free and it is a cool event to say you have attended. So all in all — it was cool and I wish I was there to see the other 2013 entries!

Went to my top secret location to watch the fireworks. Great vantage point, parking a breeze and I am home by 10:40. And no, I won’t tell you where it is.
Saw Thailand’s show. Except for a few minutes of firework smiley faces mid-​show and the 1 minute finale it was generally a fireworks snooze-​fest. A lot of redundancy and the music was quite horrible. Admittedly, I have been to some exceptional fireworks shows over the years so I am a tough audience.
Regardless, it is free, kids love to stay up late and are easily impressed and tourists think that it is awesome so it is hard to be completely jaded.

I lived there for 24 years and lived right in the West End and Kitsilano when they had these, and believe me it’s no joke having several hundred thousand people from the suburbs and Surrey pouring into the West End, you can’t take out your car or get transit back to your apartment because of the massive crowds. You’re trapped there. A very congested area fed by only a few streets and bridges, the bottle necks getting out are hours long. They put on extra transit, but it can’t move, every side street is completely jammed with people. Many inbred types come in from Surrey and surrounding areas, drunk as skunks, fighting, vomiting and publically urinating in front of anybody, anywhere. It can get extremely creepy, one year an ambulance was pushed over and EMT workers were pepper sprayed in the West End.
People start saving spots on the beaches at noon, and the show doesn’t start until 10pm, so you can imagine the crowds, many have been drinking all day in the sun.
Do yourself a favour and watch it from the Jericho beach area, especially if you have kids with you because you will witness behaviour that is barely human.
Park in the wrong spot or what looks like an abandoned lot and you will be ticketed and towed, they love to tow in this city.
It will also take you literally hours to get home unless you live within walking or cycling distance, sitting in the heaviest traffic you will ever see and breathing the resulting exhaust fumes.
The best way to see it is from the water, but the lines of boats to get back to harbour has to be seen to be believed. One year a yacht from Seattle sailed between a tug boat and it’s barge hitting the tow line and the yacht flipped over and several passengers drowned.
Vancouver is a very tight, congested, small area, with several narrow bridges feeding the downtown core, all roads lead to these bridges, so you cannot beat the traffic in any way.
You’ve been warned…

I may be biased as I do not care for fireworks, and don’t really consider them a «fun» thing to do, and I’d rather be doing something else with another person or group. Albeit they are kind of romantic. ;)
All shows (this year there are 3) start at 10pm, and go for about 30 minutes.
July 28^th = Vietnam.
August 1^st = Brazil.
August 4^th = Italy.
For tourists, and even locals who want to watch the Celebration of Light, take note!
* A large majority of the population who go to watch the fireworks head down to English Bay. Many people come in groups in the afternoon and linger (+tan +drink +eat) until the evening hours so they have a spot on the beach. If you think that coming at 8pm will secure you a spot on the beach with ample room you are wrong! You will have to walk around the seawall, or stand in the street if you don’t want to fight your way through people. You can also watch at Sunset Beach, Jericho, and Kits Beach – the latter being not as close but beautiful nevertheless (and less congested).
* You can bring your little kids to the event but again I would avoid English Bay… the noise from the fireworks, coupled in with rowdy, drunk young people will not be favourable for them. However I did see plently of parents with strollers and kids at this years CoL.
* If cops see you with liquor they will pour it out, DUH, it’s funny how many people think otherwise.
* A lot of people live in the West End, please don’t be a obnoxious drunk and annoy them or pee on their property at 3am – the cops presence is still felt at this time.
* Since the fireworks are only for about 30 minutes, people start making their way down Davie Street right after. I would linger around the beach, maybe get something to eat if you have the time before walking back. It’s going to be equally as packed on the sky-​train, as well as the street if you are in your car right after the show finishes. When I went on the sky-​train at 12:45−1am, the train was packed but only as much as rush hour. The last train is just past 1am!
I mean I think everyone should see them once, especially for people who haven’t seen fireworks before (yes, it’s true!). I have seen my fare share of them in the past years, but still try to go to at least one show per year.
However I will say the best place to watch them is a friends balcony!

I came here with a friend. I don’t get that excited about fireworks. Just never been that enthralled with it like most. The firework show was impressive as I judged from the audience’s reaction. There was such a huge HUGE crowd. My favorite part was the finale and seeing the crowd’s reaction to the fireworks. Now that was a sight worth seeing. Check out the photo!

The 2011 C.o.L is even better than 2010 was. We watched China’s entry and we were all blown away. It was seriously impressive. After seeing this show it’s going to be hard to get excited about another one.
On a more personal note, I have to say I feel mixed emotions about firework displays, is it just me?
I think of it as wasteful and I worry about toxic residues and feel bad for the wildlife. At the same time, I enjoy the colours and sounds of the show and I’m so impressed with the engineering that goes into it.
I also think about the people who have experienced pyrotechnic explosions that are far from celebratory.
I admit it, I’m on the fence on this one.

This year’s celebration of light was a slight disappointment. For a free event, the fireworks are very high quality. China never showed up because they were too busy with Expo 2010 in Shanghai, so Canada set off all of the fireworks for the China’s fireworks night. Also, there was no grand finale. Same old problems with people drinking in the beaches and smoking. Smoking is banned in all Vancouver public parks and they didn’t enforce it! However, they did enforce a drinking ban, but I did see people drinking alcohol. Vanier Park, English Bay, Kits Beaches aren’t exactly family friendly areas if you have small kids.

I like fireworks!!! I like the fact that for many years we don’t just have the 1 July show but 4 major shows to see!!! I hope the sponsors keep coming and the show goes on and on and on!!!

How can someone not love this festival? We’re SOOOOO lucky to have gotten it back! As you may or may not know, it almost got cancelled this year due to lack of funding/​corporate sponsorship.
I had the opportunity of watching them 3 nights in 3 different, uncommon spots.
July 22 – Priviliged enough to watch them from someone’s 22^nd floor penthouse suite at English Bay, Canada’s turn, Alice in Wonderland themed, was pretty amazing
July 25 – By fluke from the corner of 7^th and Burrard, in my car because it was pouring rain. Couldn’t see everything but what we did see was gorgeous and went well with the music which was also fantastic. Done by South Africa.
July 29 – At a UYE Wine and Cheese at West Point Grey Park. Good view, but a little smaller because it’s further. United Kingdom’s turn, music was really random. It sounded like it started with Star Wars and had some Pomp and Circumstance in it. I think this was the least impressive of the bunch.
Overall, fun events. I’d much rather go to a discrete location and avoid the crowds than battle for a spot on the beach and fight the masses on the way back out.
And besides, who doesn’t love a good picnic and fireworks with friends.
Recommendation: try to bring a portable battery operated radio to listen to the music coordinated to the fireworks.

This is a great treat for Vancouver, and like Reena, I’m so glad that corporate sponsoship came through for it again earlier this year since it would be a shame if it got cancelled.
Love the creativity behind the fireworks and the themes. In 2008, I went to the China night. In 2009, I’ve been to Canada’s Wizard of Oz July 22 night (Canada rocked by the way!) and watched from a park off Point Grey, watched from a car in the pouring rain on July 25, and will be seeing them after a friend’s wedding on Aug 1.
Only downsides are annoying people who stand up at the front and block the view for those further back, and it can be a pain driving out of the area afterwards. Still worth it to go out at least one night a year — try to get a spot where the music is going for the full effect.

These were the most amazing, breathtaking fireworks I have EVER SEEN.
I was lucky enough to see 3 nights of the Celebration of Light in 2008 — USA, China and the finale. They did stuff with fireworks that I didn’t even know was possible. The whole time I was staring at the sky going WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! And I’m not some big fireworks aficionado or anything. These are even better than the Macy’s fireworks in NYC. Yeah, that’s right.
Yeah, it’s crowded. We watched from Stanley Park and got there early enough to get a good spot. Parking and driving would probably be a nightmare. But I loved it — one of my favorite memories of Vancouver!

So. the fire works are beautiful. every year they never let you down… but I feel I should warm unsuspecting tourists of the mayhem that ensues each year…
Basically 1 gazillion people file into the west end of Vancouver. the gates to the suburbs open and every redneck from Surrey makes their way into the city… as you may or may not know. the West end is the gay neighborhood. gay + redneck = disaster… it can and has been a very bad combo in the past and likely will be again in the future…
Also.people get oh so stupid at the fireworks. no care or concern for others around them. for the people that actually live in the area. trash piles up. vandalism occurs.basically every degenerate has carte blanche at being a full fledge a-​hole!
BUT.the fire works are pretty amazing… my advise is to see them on a boat. I had done this 2 years in a row. no crowds​.no a-holes…except for my hubby’s co-workers:).but over all a much more pleasant experience. AND I avoid the mass of redneck that what to kill me… happy days!

There are four nights in the middle of summer every year in Vancouver where the skies are lit up with world class pyrotechnic demonstrations for 25 solid minutes of explosive euphoria for the masses. These 25 minutes at night cause horrible traffic problems downtown for hours before and after each event, much to the despair of local residents, but provide income for street vendors, an excuse for alcoholics to imbibe, a big tourism draw for the city, and fun for the whole family. Formerly called the Benson & Hedges Symphony of Fire, the fireworks competition changed its name when HSBC took over sponsorship. Too bad, because «Symphony of Fire» sounded a lot more awesome than «Celebration of Light.»
So much effort is spent by the viewers leading up to the event every year to stake out a watching spot on English Bay, Kits Beach, or Stanley Park. Our hero has watched the fireworks from such diverse locations as:
— in an inflatable raft at the edge of the water
— sitting on top of a Port-​o-​potty, before getting chased down by police
— a sidewalk bar patio
— a skyrise patio he snuck into
No matter how early you get to the beach to stake out a spot for you and your friends though, there’s always some people who will try to squeeze in right next to you and light up a reefer while you’re watching. They will also have a crying baby.
PROS:
— A spectacular international fireworks competition that’s totally free to attend!
— Fireworks are synchronized to music, which is broadcast on the radio (bring your boom box to be able to hear above the sound of explosions in the sky).
CONS:
— Always not enough washroom facilities.
— Huge trash problems afterwards on the beaches. Pick up after yourselves!
— After the fireworks, there’s always people who are afraid of Port-​o-​potties or simply to lazy to find them… who stand at the edge of the water and pee directly into the Bay.