Organizers have pulled the plug on Vancouver’s inaugural Formula E electric motorsports race.
Vancouver was due to make its first appearance on the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship circuit on July 2.
The race would have capped off a Canada Day weekend festival including a planned performance by Nickelback and a business conference with a focus on climate change solutions.
In a statement Friday, a spokesperson for One Stop Strategy Group said organizers had made the “incredibly difficult decision” to postpone the Canadian E-Fest to 2023.
“The City of Vancouver fully supports the postponement,” the statement reads.
“Delivery of a world class event is of the utmost importance to the organization.”
In its own statement, the city said the OSS Group had “elected to exercise its rights under the Host City Agreement” to postpone the event to a future date.
The city said it was working with organizers to firm up a new date for the event.
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With an estimated 30,000 tickets already sold, organizers said they would be communicating with ticket holders through ticketing partner ATPI “to inform their options.”
The Formula E event would have marked the first time world-class racing hit Vancouver’s streets since the Molson Indy left the city in 2004.
The vehicles resemble Formula 1 racers in appearance, but are powered by electric motors capable of accelerating from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.8 seconds and reaching top speeds of 280 km/h.
Vancouver was scheduled to be the 10th of 16 stops on the 2022 circuit, which includes races in Mexico City, Cape Town, Rome, Monte Carlo, New York, London and Deol.