From August 1-4, 2025, we surveyed Vancouverites on the cancellation of the Honda Celebration of Light festival.
Highlights of our survey include…
1 – Awareness and Familiarity
The Honda Celebration of Light fireworks festival is well known in Metro Vancouver, with nearly all residents being familiar with the festival (97%), and a significant majority (89%) being very or somewhat familiar. The festival is similarly well-attended, with over three-quarters (77%) of Metro Vancouver residents having attended the festival at some point.
2 – Support for Funding
There is support overall for funding for the Honda Celebration of Light Festival. Nearly three-quarters (74%) of Metro Vancouver residents support government funding for the festival overall, which is higher among those who have previously attended the festival (77% vs. 63% for those who have not attended). When provided information on the festival’s funding structure, support is highest for private sponsors to increase their funding (66%). Still, at least one-third of Metro Vancouver residents note that various government bodies, including the federal, provincial, municipal (City of Vancouver and the Metro Vancouver Regional District) governments should increase their funding for the festival (33-40%), or at minimum, it should stay the same (40-45%).
3 – Importance of the Festival
Metro Vancouver residents recognize that the Honda Celebration of Light festival is important to both Metro Vancouver’s identity and culture, as well as local economy. At an overall level, nearly three-quarters (73%) of Metro Vancouver residents say the festival is important to Metro Vancouver’s identity and culture, with 46% saying it is very important. If the festival were to be cancelled due to decreased funding, nearly four-in-five Metro Vancouver residents say this would have a negative impact on both Metro Vancouver’s identity and culture (77%), as well as its local economy (79%).
Attendance at the festival also has an impact, with those who have attended the festival being more likely to say it is very important for Metro Vancouver’s identity and culture overall (53%) and would have a negative impact on it if cancelled (80%).
4 – Fairness of Federal Government Funding
When it comes to federal funding for various events across the country, over two-thirds (68%) of Metro Vancouver residents feel that it is unfair that West Coast events, like the Honda Celebration of Light, receive comparatively less federal funding than other festivals in other provinces.
Methodology
The results for this wave of research are based on online research conducted from August 1 to August 4, 2025 with a representative sample of 504 residents of metro Vancouver, 18 years of age and older from Leger’s LEO panel.
Results were weighted according to age, gender, mother tongue, region, education and presence of children in the household in order to ensure a representative sample of the Canadian population.
A margin of error cannot be associated with a non-probability sample in a panel survey, but for comparison purposes, a probability sample of this size yields a margin of error no greater than ±4.3%, (19 times out of 20) for the sample.
