One of Vancouver’s premier annual events was the Celebration of Light fireworks competition in English Bay held in the summer each year.
For more than three decades, the event delighted spectators each year as one of BC’s biggest tourism events. In 2025, fireworks lit the sky on Saturdays and Wednesdays in July, the 19th, 23rd, and 26th. Instead of having pyrotechnic teams from different countries compete, all teams were from Canada. The teams for 2025 were from Yukon, Quebec and Nova Scotia.
In late November 2025, the Vancouver Fireworks Festival Society announced that the Honda Celebration of Light had been cancelled indefinitely.
See our articles about Lower Mainland Fireworks Events or the Summer Music & Fireworks Festival to learn about other events with fireworks at other times and places. Baseball games with the Vancouver Canadians also sometimes feature fireworks.
Continue reading below to learn about what the Celebration of Light used to offer and why it was such a beloved Vancouver event.
Celebration of Light Fireworks Information
Click on any of the following links to jump to specific information, or continue reading to learn everything there is to know!
Celebration of Light | Fireworks Concerts | Airshows | Where to Watch | Celebration of Light Video | About the Competition | Fireworks Judging | Other Information
Honda Celebration of Light Fireworks
The Honda Celebration of Light festival featured a world-class fireworks competition, with a different team performing each night. In 2025 there were also Drone Shows before the fireworks displays, as well as performances by Canada’s Snowbirds team on the first two nights.
Due to rising costs, the loss of federal funding, among other reasons, the free event became financially unsustainable. The organizers require more long-term government funding, and as a result, the organizers announced the festival won’t take place in 2026. It might not return again.
The fireworks were fantastic! Hundreds of thousands of people turned out on each of the three nights the event was on. Team Nova Scotia was crowned the 2025 champion.
Team Pyrotex Fireworx from the United Kingdom was crowned the 2024 winner. In 2025 all teams were from Canada. Participating teams were from Yukon, Quebec and Nova Scotia. The fireworks traditionally blasted off from the water by English Bay Beach.
TOP PLACES TO WATCH THE FIREWORKS
Premium venues to watch the fireworks from at English Bay Beach included Inukshuk Point and the Concord Pacific Grandstand. Another great option was to watch the fireworks from a Vancouver Boat Parties event out on the water.
Click Top English Bay Fireworks Venues for details about these and other places where people used see the fireworks. Our list remains one of Vancouver’s most comprehensive.
Celebration of Light
The Honda Celebration of Light event attracted hundreds of thousands of spectators. Music accompanied the pyrotechnics, and people tuned in from anywhere by listening to CFMI Rock 101 FM radio.
In 2025 the competitors were the following:
- July 19th – Midnight Sun (Yukon)
- July 23rd – Royal Pyrotechnie (Quebec)
- July 26th – Fireworks FX (Nova Scotia)
Fireworks Concerts
Live music used to be a big part of the Celebration of Light. Over the years, concerts took place at Sunset Beach, English Bay Beach and later near Second Beach in Stanley Park. In 2022 and 2023 the entertainment moved to Morton Park at English Bay, where the festival zone featured live music, food trucks and pre-fireworks activities. By 2024, the area offered food trucks only.
Another place people enjoyed free live entertainment before the fireworks was the Kitsilano Showboat Stage, which hosted performances on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings in July, including on the fireworks Saturdays.
English Bay Airshows
A popular tradition at the Honda Celebration of Light was the pre-fireworks Air Show. The show featured aerial acrobatics above English Bay. It was visible from Sunset Beach to Second Beach, as well as from Vanier Park and Kitsilano Beach. Though English Bay Beach offered the best views.
In 2025 the air show took place on the first Saturday and the Wednesday of the festival. That year’s displays were especially impressive because Canada’s Snowbirds performed on both nights. The air show typically began shortly before sunset, with most years starting around 7:40 pm.
BASEBALL FIREWORKS
Here’s a tip. Another place you can watch different fireworks from is at Nat Bailey Stadium on a few special dates after a Vancouver Canadians Baseball Game in the summer. There were fireworks at the game on July 26th in 2025. There were also fireworks nights at Nat Bailey with the Vancouver Canadians on July 3rd and 19th, August 9th and 23rd, and September 6th in 2025.
Where to Watch
The fireworks were launched from a barge just offshore from English Bay Beach, but they could be seen from miles around. Below were some of the most popular places to watch them.
Click Top Fireworks Venues for an even more comprehensive list. See below for a brief list.
English Bay Beach Views
English Bay Beach was arguably the top viewing spot. That’s where the sandy shoreline and nearby lawns were covered with 200,000 spectators on sunny evenings. People could sit on the beach for free or purchase access to premium venues for crowd-free views.
FOLK MUSIC AND FIREWORKS
The dates for the Vancouver Folk Music Festival and Celebration of Light Fireworks don’t always coincide, but they did in 2025. The first day of the fireworks competition was the Saturday of the folk music festival. During the fireworks, the concerts at the music festival likely paused on July 19th, long enough for people to watch the fireworks.
The Vancouver Folk Music Festival takes place at Jericho Beach, and the view of the fireworks from there is actually pretty good. We’ve watched from there a couple of times. The music festival is also amazing.
Other Pyrotechnic Viewing Areas
Several ticketed areas at English Bay offered reserved seating and VIP-style amenities. These were popular options for anyone wanting a more relaxed viewing experience.
Boaters also gathered in English Bay to watch the displays from the water. For many, this was even better than viewing from shore, with no crowds and no post-show traffic. Those without boats could join special cruises offered by Vancouver Boat Parties, which typically ran on each fireworks night. Some people watched on the water on canoes and paddleboards.
In addition to the main English Bay Beach area, the Honda Celebration of Light fireworks were really visible at Second Beach and Sunset Beach. The same can be said about Kitsilano Beach and Vanier Park, close to the Vancouver Maritime Museum and Bard on the Beach, which features Shakespearean shows in the summer. If you like plays, we also highly recommend the musicals at Theatre Under the Stars at Stanley Park.
Jericho Beach was a bit far away, but it was another nice place to watch from a distance and admire the Vancouver skyline at night. Jericho Beach is also where you can find terrific Folk Music.
Honda Celebration of Light Video
To see what the Honda Celebration of Light was like, including its daytime festival activities, check out the following video. It shows scenes from a few years ago when Japan lit up the sky with its fireworks displays.
The festival offered much more than fireworks in most years. There were drone shows, an airshow and crowds of up to about 400,000 people at English Bay Beach.
About the Fireworks Competition
The Honda Celebration of Light ran for more than 30 years. Its 30th anniversary was originally planned for 2020, then hoped for 2021, but the milestone was finally celebrated in 2022.
Each summer, the three-night festival drew as many as 1 million visitors. In an average year, about 500,000 people attended each of the two Saturdays, with slightly fewer on the Wednesday night.
For the competition, three pyrotechnic teams were selected and given a set budget by the organizers, with the option to contribute additional funds. A typical show used around 6,000 fireworks, although some years, such as when Korea competed, they used more than 8,000.
About the Fireworks Barge
Seaspan owned the barge used for the fireworks. It was used primarily for massive fireworks events in Vancouver, including the Honda Celebration of Light. The barge is also used for Canada Day, plus likely at other times when needed in Vancouver.
Setting up each show typically involved about ten Canadian pyrotechnic experts, along with several team members from each competing company. During the actual displays, only four people remained on the barge—two Canadians and two members of the visiting team—working from a small bulletproof control room.
Behind the scenes, minor issues sometimes happened, such as small flare-ups, but overall, the operations ran smoothly.
Fireworks Competition Judging
The main purpose of the Honda Celebration of Light was to “spark togetherness.” It was also a competition where the winning fireworks company earned valuable bragging rights.
Each year three different pyrotechnic companies competed, and each evening’s display was rated by a panel of judges. The criteria included (as they did for many years):
- General Design and Artistry – 30 points
- Synchronization of the Fireworks to their Music – 20 points
- Originality of the Show – 15 points
- Soundtrack Quality – 15 points
- Overall Fireworks Quality – 10 points
- Size of the Pyrotechnic Displays – 10 points
Other Information
Check out the official Honda Celebration of Light website to learn more about this spectacular past event.
Click Best Celebration of Light Venues or Premium Venues at English Bay Beach for a detailed list of the top places people used to watch the fireworks from.
See our July Calendar, August Calendar or article about the BC Day long weekend to learn more about other activities taking place around the same time.
Click Metro Vancouver Fireworks Events for a list of other Lower Mainland fireworks displays at other times of the year.
Check out Vancouver’s Festivals & Events Calendar for a list of other major events of all different kinds.
