Supporters of a Vancouver fireworks festival want surrounding cities to help pay for its half-million-dollar budget shortfall, but Richmond’s mayor is cool to the idea.
“There are times when you invest in things that are outside your city, but it’s a rare occasion, and I don’t think this would qualify,� Mayor Malcolm Brodie said yesterday.
Organizers of the HSBC Celebration of Light are scrambling to pay for this summer’s event after losing a major sponsor in Telus—and another sponsor, B.C. Hydro, could follow suit.
The festival has been a fixture on English Bay for 15 years. Its four nights of fireworks competition attracts more than one million people.
With its future in doubt, organizers and some Vancouver civic politicians are calling on other municipalities and the Greater Vancouver Regional District to buck up.
Brodie said although there are cultural benefits to hosting the fireworks, the main driver is economic—for Vancouver, which pulls in tens of millions of dollars in economic spinoffs.
“Though Richmond people do enjoy the fireworks, they also go into Vancouver and they spend their money in there,� Brodie said. “That’s what makes it hard to justify from another city’s point of view in investing in it.�
Brodie noted Richmond has shown willingness to “step up to the plate� to invest elsewhere in the region, citing its $500,000 contribution to the Vancouver Olympic bid when there was no assurance Vancouver would win nor that the city would land the oval.
Brodie, who sits on the GVRD board, said there’s “a certain incentive� for regional investment, but the challenge is to know where to stop. Events such as the Steveston Salmon Festival, Cloverdale Rodeo and White Rock’s Spirit of the Sea Festival all are major festivals that attract people from outside their city limits.
Richmond’s other GVRD representative, Coun. Harold Steves, also isn’t enthusiastic. He suggested a cost sharing of major events spread throughout the region.
“Any money that the GVRD wants to put up should go equally to any other community that wants to have a major festival or event.�
A 2008 tall ships event being considered for the West Coast, Steves said, and it would only be fair for Vancouver to help pay for the event to be staged in Richmond—if Vancouver gets financial help for its fireworks.
“That event and many other events could be shared throughout the region,� he said. “People don’t realize that we’re actually, as some people are starting to call us, metro Vancouver. We all should have a share in these events—in the ability to have them and to cost-share them.�
“There are times when you invest in things that are outside your city, but it’s a rare occasion, and I don’t think this would qualify,� Mayor Malcolm Brodie said yesterday.
Organizers of the HSBC Celebration of Light are scrambling to pay for this summer’s event after losing a major sponsor in Telus—and another sponsor, B.C. Hydro, could follow suit.
The festival has been a fixture on English Bay for 15 years. Its four nights of fireworks competition attracts more than one million people.
With its future in doubt, organizers and some Vancouver civic politicians are calling on other municipalities and the Greater Vancouver Regional District to buck up.
Brodie said although there are cultural benefits to hosting the fireworks, the main driver is economic—for Vancouver, which pulls in tens of millions of dollars in economic spinoffs.
“Though Richmond people do enjoy the fireworks, they also go into Vancouver and they spend their money in there,� Brodie said. “That’s what makes it hard to justify from another city’s point of view in investing in it.�
Brodie noted Richmond has shown willingness to “step up to the plate� to invest elsewhere in the region, citing its $500,000 contribution to the Vancouver Olympic bid when there was no assurance Vancouver would win nor that the city would land the oval.
Brodie, who sits on the GVRD board, said there’s “a certain incentive� for regional investment, but the challenge is to know where to stop. Events such as the Steveston Salmon Festival, Cloverdale Rodeo and White Rock’s Spirit of the Sea Festival all are major festivals that attract people from outside their city limits.
Richmond’s other GVRD representative, Coun. Harold Steves, also isn’t enthusiastic. He suggested a cost sharing of major events spread throughout the region.
“Any money that the GVRD wants to put up should go equally to any other community that wants to have a major festival or event.�
A 2008 tall ships event being considered for the West Coast, Steves said, and it would only be fair for Vancouver to help pay for the event to be staged in Richmond—if Vancouver gets financial help for its fireworks.
“That event and many other events could be shared throughout the region,� he said. “People don’t realize that we’re actually, as some people are starting to call us, metro Vancouver. We all should have a share in these events—in the ability to have them and to cost-share them.�