WATCH: A major yoga event scheduled for the Burrard Street Bridge has collapsed after public backlash. This morning sponsors started dropping out because of the outcry over disruption. Julia Foy reports.
VANCOUVER – The #OmtheBridge yoga event, set for June 21 on the Burrard Street Bridge, has been cancelled.
After sponsors behind the event pulled out, Premier Christy Clark said the province had been “forced” to cancel the event.
“Unfortunately, the focus of the proposed Burrard Street Bridge event has drifted towards politics – getting in the way of the spirit of community and inner reflection,” Clark said in a statement.
Lululemon was the first on Friday to say they would not be participating in the event.
In a statement they said in part:
We’ve read your posts and the media reports, and heard the disappointment in the voices of our community frustrated by the location, cost and date. We had the best intentions. And so we’re taking a deep cleansing breath and over the next several days, we’ll be reimagining a celebration that honours the spirit and tradition of yoga and serves our communities in a more meaningful way.
Another sponsor, YYoga, pulled out as well. In a statement on their website, they said the event had become anything but positive:
Our intention to provide yoga to the city in celebration was purely formed. We hoped that our intentions would shine through, but that has not been the case. We have had the opportunity to connect with our very passionate community over the last several days and have done a lot of listening. We have heard that the event that was presented was not what they wanted.
The importance of celebrating the tradition of yoga still rings true for us. We are working with our partners from the community to deliver something that serves them in a more meaningful way.
Please stay tuned for something that will reflect the tradition of yoga, and the wishes of our community…in a park.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi promoted International Yoga Day when he visited B.C. in April, and Clark said last week that millions of people around the world celebrate the event, which is sanctioned by the United Nations.
Criticism erupted soon after Clark announced plans for “Om the Bridge,” with residents questioning everything from its location to the $150,000 cost.
Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, head of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, said Friday that the premier should have focused on aboriginal issues because June 21 is also national Aboriginal Day.
“On the face of it, I found Premier Clark’s idea to host an international yoga event on the Burrard Street Bridge to be completely flakey,” he said. “But at the same time, I also felt it was a blatant political opportunism.”
Phillip said he was particularly concerned about Clark’s decision to promote International Yoga Day over national Aboriginal Day because of the recent release of a report by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which called on Canadians to change their relationship with First Nations.
Opposition NDP Leader John Horgan said that while Clark has said she didn’t want to mix yoga and politics, she is responsible for doing just that.
“Where this event went sideways was that it was an expense of public dollars that seemed wasteful,” Horgan said. “Millionaires get tax breaks and the premier shuts down a road so she can have a yoga class. I think that offended people.”
The controversy escalated on Thursday, when Clark received criticism for this tweet:
Clark has drawn controversy following her announcement about the International Yoga Day event that will shut down the Burrard Bridge on the morning of June 21.
At a press conference on Thursday, Clark said she did not pick the day for the event as it’s the International Day of Yoga. “It’s a little puzzling to see so many people criticizing something that people do, that thousands of British Columbians do everyday to find a little bit of peace in their lives,” she said.
“If we shut down the bridge for a marathon or a ball hockey tournament would some of those people still be complaining?”
Clark said the tweet was a bit of “self-deprecating humour.”
“Did you get it?” she asked reporters.
– With files from The Canadian Press
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