Thousands of cold water enjoyers gathered Sunday afternoon at English Bay for the 103rd Vancouver Polar Bear Swim.
The event is a popular attraction but has been cancelled the past two New Year’s Days due to the pandemic.
“It’s just so amazing to see all the smiles on so many faces,” Lisa Pantages said, Vancouver Polar Swim’s president.
“It was really great seeing all the generations of different families swimming (Sunday).”
An enthusiastic swimmer told Global News they’ve been waiting for the return of the polar bear swim since it was cancelled in 2021.
“It’s actually been on my bucket list for 15 years,” one woman said.
“I was hoping to go last year but it got cancelled.”
The swim started around 1:30 p.m. and lasted a few hours. A live music concert was also held to entertain the crowd.
A Vancouver city councillor told Global News the city should focus on bringing back fun in-person events and festivals.
“Now that we are through the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, we really need to start encouraging people to come back downtown and start enjoying Vancouver again,” said Peter Meizner.
“What we need to do as a city is make it as easy as possible for these events to happen.”
He said he expects the city and council to work with community partners to expedite events and festivals for the coming year ahead.