Vancouver’s Celebration of Light festival to begin Saturday night

The popular Honda Celebration of Light returns to English Bay on Saturday night.

Officials said it is expected that more than 1.3 million people will be attending the firework festival over the three nights of shows.

Australia will be the first to perform on Saturday, starting around 10 p.m.

Mexico is the second performance which will be on Wednesday, followed by the Philippines next Saturday.

Organizers are encouraging attendees to head to Vancouver’s West End earlier in the day to snag their spots and to leave their vehicles at home.

Some attendees arrived at the beach early Saturday to secure their spots.

“(I’ve been) coming for about 10 years,” Courtney Dicicco told Global News.

“We got here around 11 a.m., it’s a pretty busy event so we wanted to get here early. We didn’t want to be standing on the street.”

0:51 2023 Celebration of Lights lineup announced

It takes about three days to get a show ready with the help of veteran pyrotechnicians.

“My first time on the barge was in ’07, as team Canada, and that was a thrill,” said Kelly Guille, an organizer.

“It continues to be an honour because now I get to work with the producers and invite these guys. It’s not my show anymore, it’s their show, but the fact that I get to bring it here, put it in the sky … it’s a thrill.”

The winning team will be announced on Tuesday, Aug. 2.

Road closures in the West End will be in effect for all three shows.