Plans for a New Year’s Eve concert in Niagara Falls have been postponed amid new provincial capacity restrictions for large venues tied to the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.
Niagara Falls Tourism revealed the shelving of the event in a release on Friday morning and said a “rescheduled concert date” will be announced in the near future.
The Niagara Falls concert was set to take place Friday night at the Convention Centre and feature performances by Blue Rodeo, Serena Ryder and Crown Lands.
“We are working with the bands to reschedule and will announce the new concert date as soon as possible,” Convention Centre president and GM Noel Buckley said in the release.
The move comes just hours after Ontario’s chief medical officer revealed new capacity limits for large indoor entertainment venues such as concert venues, spectator arenas (i.e. sporting events) and theatres
The venues now must be capped at no more than 1,000 people or 50 per cent capacity, whichever one is less, starting Dec. 31.
A 50 per cent capacity limit for other public indoor settings such as gyms and restaurants is already in effect.
Fireworks displays over the Falls are still expected to take place at 9 p.m. on Friday and midnight on Jan. 1, 2022 at 10 p.m.
On Tuesday, the City of Mississauga cancelled its New Year’s Eve fireworks show as Omicron cases continue to soar.