Grey Cup Football at BC Place

BC Lions and other Canadian football fans celebrated the Grey Cup Festival in Vancouver in 2024! The big game happened in November.

The Toronto Argonauts defeated the Winnipeg Blue Bombers with a final score of 41 to 24.

This article contains the following information about the Grey Cup:

Where and When | Grey Cup Festival | Did the BC Lions Compete? | Other Information

CFL Grey Cup Football in Vancouver

The Grey Cup is Canada’s version of the Super Bowl, crowning the champion of the Canadian Football League season. The event is becoming bigger and bigger each year and in 2024 the party came to Vancouver!

Vancouver has hosted the second-most Grey Cups of any Canadian city ever, but this was the first time it did so in a decade. The fun didn’t just include the game, as there was the “Grey Cup Festival” for an entire week leading up to the final!

Where and When

The 111th Grey Cup happened on November 17th, 2024. BC Place was the host stadium for the event. This was the 17th time Vancouver had hosted the finals and the 10th time it had been played at BC Place. Empire Stadium hosted the other seven games. The only city that has hosted more Grey Cups is Toronto.

The halftime show headliner at the 2024 game was the Jonas Brothers.

Grey Cup Festival

One of the best parts of hosting the Grey Cup any year is the Grey Cup Festival. From November 10th to the 17th in 2024, there were fun events and activities taking place in downtown Vancouver. The festival was clustered around Canada Place and the Vancouver Convention Centre.

Most of the Grey Cup Festival activities took place from November 13th to 16th. During that time there was a street festival with live music, food trucks and miniature football fields. There were also designated party rooms for fans of each of the nine CFL teams and a concert on the night of the 16th to cap off the pregame festivities.

Below is the schedule of the biggest events that took place during the 2024 Grey Cup Festival. For the full listing of everything that was offered, click Grey Cup Festival Schedule.

Sunday, November 10th, 2024

12:30 pm – Grey Cup Arrival at the Coal Harbour Seawall

Wednesday, November 13th, 2024

4:00 pm – Grey Cup Festival Kickoff Party at Canada Place Way (until 8:00 pm)

Thursday, November 14th, 2024

11:00 am – Street Festival at Canada Place Way (until 9:00 pm)
3:00 pm – John Welsh and Los Valientes performed at the Street Festival
4:00 pm – Coors Light Team Party HQ at Vancouver Convention Centre West (until 1:00 am)
5:00 pm – En Karma performed at the Street Festival
6:30 pm – CFL Awards Ceremony at Vancouver Convention Centre West
7:30 pm – Delhi 2 Dublin performed at the Street Festival

Friday, November 15th, 2024

10:00 am – CFL Fan State of the League at Vancouver Convention Centre West
11:00 am – Street Festival at Canada Place Way (until 9:00 pm)
11:00 am – CFLAA Legends Luncheon at Vancouver Convention Centre West
12:00 pm – Coors Light Team Party HQ at Vancouver Convention Centre West (until 1:00 am)
1:00 pm – Pinebarren performed at the Street Festival
4:00 pm – Jordan Klassen performed at the Street Festival
5:00 pm – Bitterly Divine performed at the Street Festival
6:00 pm – Garret T. Willie performed at the Street Festival
6:30 pm – Gala Dinner at Vancouver Convention Centre West
7:30 pm – Dear Rouge performed at the Street Festival
9:30 pm – a drone show took place in Coal Harbour between the Vancouver Convention Centre and Westin Bayshore Hotel

Saturday, November 16th, 2024

8:00 am – Athletes in Action Grey Cup Breakfast at Vancouver Convention Centre West
11:00 am – Street Festival at Canada Place Way (until 9:00 pm)
12:00 pm – Coors Light Team Party HQ at Vancouver Convention Centre West (until 1:00 am)
2:00 pm – Orchard Sky performed at the Street Festival
4:30 pm – VAVO performed at the Street Festival
6:00 pm – Shawn Austin performed at the Street Festival
7:30 pm – Chad Brownlee performed at the Street Festival
7:30 pm – Sam Roberts Band performed at Vancouver Convention Centre West

Sunday, November 17th, 2024

10:00 am – Indoor Tailgate at Vancouver Convention Centre West (until 2:00 pm)
10:00 am – Lordco Auto Parts Block Party at BC Place (until 3:00 pm)
1:30 pm – United Traffic Control Fan March from Canada Place Way to Terry Fox Plaza
3:00 pm – The 111th Grey Cup at BC Place

Were the BC Lions in the Grey Cup?

The BC Lions last made it to the Grey Cup in 2011, which they won (also at BC Place). In the years since they’ve made it to the Western Conference Final four times but fallen just short in all of them.

The Lions have been a playoff contender in each of the last few seasons, finishing 12-6 in the regular season in both 2022 and 2023. Both years their season ended in a loss to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Sadly, the Lions fell short again in 2024. They made the postseason with a 9-9 record, but lost on the road to the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the first round of the playoffs.

The 2024 Grey Cup featured the Winnipeg Blue Bombers facing off against the Toronto Argonauts.