Fireworks Bursting Over Coal Harbour

Vancouver hosts several fireworks events including at New Year’s, Canada Day, Halloween and the English Bay fireworks competitions in July.

Fireworks in the Lower Mainland

Attracting hundreds of thousands of people, Vancouver’s various fireworks events are all first-rate and highly recommended.

See below for information about the Cloverdale Rodeo, Canada Day, Honda Celebration of Light, BC Day, Farewell to Summer Fireworks Festival, Halloween fireworks events and New Year’s Eve Celebrations.

Cloverdale Rodeo Fireworks

The Cloverdale Rodeo is a large rodeo and country fair that takes place in Surrey on the Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday of the May Long Weekend each year.

At the rodeo there are amusement rides, rodeo competitions, evening concerts, a parade and various other family-friendly cowboy-themed activities. On the first night of the rodeo, on the Friday, there are also normally fireworks at around 9:30 pm.

After a two-year break, the Cloverdale Rodeo returned in 2023. However, it doesn’t look like there were any fireworks. The event takes place from May 17th to 20th in 2024. Details about the fireworks this year are to be confirmed.

Click Cloverdale Rodeo for more information about the event.

Canada Day Fireworks

One of Vancouver’s largest rounds of fireworks each year takes place on Canada Day at various venues around the Lower Mainland.

The main pyrotechnics on July 1st used to launch from a barge in the water just off Canada Place. Like on New Year’s Eve in past years, the entire region around Canada Place has been a zoo of people, free concerts and other entertainment during the day.

Unfortunately, in 2023 the organizers of the event announced that the fireworks were permanently cancelled. Fireworks do, however, still take place in other communities in the Lower Mainland.

For more information about the Canada Day celebrations in downtown Vancouver, click Canada Day at Canada Place.

In recent years Canada Day fireworks occurred at events in Surrey, White Rock, Burnaby, Port Coquitlam, Coquitlam and Steveston Village. For more information on Canada Day fireworks and other festivities throughout the Lower Mainland on July 1st, click Canada Day Fireworks.

Celebration of Light Fireworks

Vancouver’s biggest and most famous fireworks event is the Celebration of Light international fireworks competition that takes place in English Bay.

The Celebration of Light is a three-day event that happens on the last two Saturdays and last Wednesday in July or beginning of August in the lead-up to the BC Day Long Weekend.

In 2024 the fireworks competition takes place on July 20th, 24th and 27th. Competing countries last year were Australia, Mexico and The Philippines. 2024 nations are to be confirmed.

The fireworks usually start at 10 pm each night. There is also live music and family-friendly activities all afternoon and evening. Each of the three nights’ sets of pyrotechnic displays lasts for close to 25 minutes most years. During the shows people can listen to accompanying music on their radios as well.

For more information on this world-famous three-day pyrotechnics event, click Honda Celebration of Light.

For the Honda Celebration of Light’s official website visit hondacelebrationoflight.com.

English Bay Fireworks — Fireworks at English Bay

BC Day Fireworks

The Celebration of Light takes place in the lead up to the BC Day Long Weekend, but it’s not the only fireworks that take place close to BC’s first-Monday-of-August statutory holiday.

White Rock usually has its own fireworks that weekend during its White Rock Sea Festival. In 2024 the festival runs from August 2nd to 4th.

Last year’s fireworks display happened at 10:15 pm on the Saturday. Admission was free. Details about this year’s fireworks are to be confirmed.

Farewell to Summer Fireworks Festival

The Farewell to Summer Fireworks Festival is a fairly new annual event that started in 2022. The event takes place at Westminster Quay in New Westminster. In 2024 the festivities happen on Saturday, August 24th, from 3:00 until 10:00 pm.

The end-of-summer celebration features a market and family-friendly beverage garden. There’s also live entertainment. The event concludes with a fireworks display. Admission to the festival is free.

Halloween Fireworks

Municipal government-hosted events with Halloween fireworks usually take place in Maple Ridge and Richmond each year. There was also a new event in Burnaby last year. Smaller less formal events happen of course in other places too.

Celebrate the Night is a Halloween-themed community festival and fireworks night in Maple Ridge. In 2023 the event happened on Friday, October 20th. Fireworks blasted off at 8:00 pm. Other activities included a costume contest and a carousel ride.

New for 2023 was Central Spark in Burnaby. The event featured an outdoor maze, carnival games and more, plus a fireworks finale at 8:15 pm. It was held at Central Park along Patterson Avenue and was free to attend.

Halloween fireworks also take place in Richmond’s Minoru Park most years. The venue is located at 7191 Granville Avenue. Last year’s event happened on October 31st and included free family-friendly activities from 6:30 until 8:45 pm. Click Richmond Halloween Fireworks for more information.

Halloween fireworks usually happen in the tiny community of Anmore on Halloween night at Spirit Park as well. However, the community hasn’t had them since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hopefully they return in a future year.

Richmond Fireworks at Minoru Park — Halloween Fireworks at Minoru Park

New Year’s Eve Fireworks in Vancouver

The only New Year’s Eve fireworks in Metro Vancouver (other than ones set of by private individuals) were the ones at Grouse Mountain on December 31st in 2023.

Up until 2018, some of the Lower Mainland’s finest fireworks displays each year were set off from a barge in Burrard Inlet just off Canada Place on New Year’s Eve at 12 am.

The fireworks at Canada Place didn’t happen in 2019. The event took a one-year break and planned to return on December 31st, 2020, but at a new location – at False Creek near Science World. Because of COVID-19, however, that event got cancelled, as did the festivities in 2021. The plan was going to be for the fireworks to take place at the new venue on December 31st in 2022. That event also got cancelled, and for 2023 too. Hopefully it returns in 2024.

In past years, on New Year’s Eve, tens of thousands of people turned out for the show and accompanying entertainment around Canada Place, the Vancouver Convention Centre and along the waterfront in Coal Harbour. Smaller numbers of people also watched from the southeast shore of Stanley Park and from across the water in North Vancouver.

Vancouver’s New Year’s Eve fireworks used to be short but impressive, lasting for around a dozen minutes. Live music and other entertainment also took place in the plaza outside Canada Place in the evening.

For more information, see New Year’s Eve Fireworks at False Creek.