[mr.x]

I'm not going to it this year, but every year for the past three years there have been countdowns at the big Futureshop screens at Robson and Granville. Crowds of thousands gather there everytime and watch the clock on the LED screens roll down to zero. And then, there's also that old clock atop the Vancouver City Centre building:
http://www.thevancouverite.com/pictures/NY-Eve-200747.jpg

Other pics:
http://flickr.com/photos/horcubee/341071443/

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/226/502627777_ef3265dc71_o.jpg



My idea, is to have a mini-Time Square celebration starting next year. With the Granville Street improvement done by then, it'll be great. We could have a concert stage in the middle of the street, the countdown on the two LCD screens atop Futureshop, and as already proposed we could use the Sears white walls as some sort of projection screen.

Fireworks might be possible atop several buildings in the area, unfortunately not sure about confetti and streamers with all the trolley lines....
http://timessquarenyc.org/nye/images/_DSC1598.gif
http://i.slimg.com/sc/sl/photo/n/ny/NY-NYC-TimesSquareNewYears-XL.jpg




One other suggestion I have include shutting down the area around Library Square, and have a concert stage set up at the plaza of the northern entrance on West Georgia. Have fireworks, confetti, and streamers launch from the rim of the the library's roof, and have a few giant LED tv's set up:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/Vancouver_Library_Square_July_2004.jpg

[zivan56]

That would be nice. There used to be a all ages event in front of the library, but it was deemed too fun to be held in this city...and the police actually supported it being held!

Toronto, on the other hand, has something that's for everyone and brings out tons of people at the same time. It would be great if something similar was held in a huge parking lot or even in front of city hall. But I guess we are better than them and don't need it...

[SpongeG]

i just watched seattles annual fireworks extravaganza at the space needle

and vancouver once again does nothing

i think surrey has a big event at surrey central - fireworks, bands etc

they out do vancouver

[agrant]

Vancouver needs something for sure, but where? What about the entire length of Granville street becoming a gathering place?

[mr.x]

i just watched seattles annual fireworks extravaganza at the space needle

and vancouver once again does nothing

i think surrey has a big event at surrey central - fireworks, bands etc

they out do vancouver

Wow....Surrey????

From Flickr, 2007.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/133/347508358_c07388c215.jpg
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/131/347521803_d700ebed1d.jpg




Well, at least we got back our Canada Day fireworks two years ago....one step at a time I guess?

Maybe some people will realize over the course of the year that we need something to countdown to 2010 before the world arrives.

[nova9]

That would be nice. There used to be a all ages event in front of the library, but it was deemed too fun to be held in this city...and the police actually supported it being held!

Toronto, on the other hand, has something that's for everyone and brings out tons of people at the same time. It would be great if something similar was held in a huge parking lot or even in front of city hall. But I guess we are better than them and don't need it...

If we could do something with the land by SEFC owned by concord pacific where cirque du soleil would be in the summers. fireworks launched from the creek (condo owners be damned!! just kidding). Huge space, close to transit. Nice views. Come on!!

Or....we shut down Burrard Street and watched something drop from the Shangri-La. Haha, like that chandelier.

[zivan56]

^^ That would be nice...definitely would put Vancouver on the new-years-eve map for places to be.

[Rusty Gull]

It's an annual embarrassment, frankly. Not only are we outclassed by the usual suspects (London, Sydney, Hong Kong, NYC), but also other Canadian and local cities (Toronto, Seattle, Niagara Falls).

Come on!

What's worse is that this has been going on for YEARS, with no hope for the future. When it comes to New Years, Vancouver truly is "NO FUN CITY".

[Canadian Mind]

Times square is retardedly crouwded, to the point of having trouble breathing. I'm going to go earlier next year.

I would have spent New Years in at home Vancouver, but there was nothing to do. Vancouver really needs something i it is to be recognised and considered a destination.

I heard that there we over a million people in Times square this year. Porportionally I think Vancouver could pull off an event of 150 000 based on proportion of each respective metro.

[Denscity]

The xmas parade is around 300,000 people. Im sure a major new years event would draw huge, after a few years especially.

[mr.x]

How about an actual festive gathering for once in this city? Have some pyrotechnics launching off the roof of buildings like Sears, TD Tower, and the Futureshop building with Robson and Granville being the centre of it all. Have a concert round podium on the middle of Granville and Robson. When the New Year rings in, launch the fireworks, fire the confetti and streamers into the air.


Imagine this going off of the top of downtown buildings:
- TD Tower
- Bentall towers
- Royal Tower
- Futureshop building

A Time Square-like event at Robson and Granville plus this for the skyline:


Melbourne, Australia - 2006 Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony (wishful thinking for 2010?)
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/77/186270894_c73342051c.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/51/113137270_d0d354c5a9.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3005/2542074336_754e6cf735.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3108/2541252035_2983012bde.jpg

[Whalleyboy]

i just watched seattles annual fireworks extravaganza at the space needle

and vancouver once again does nothing

i think surrey has a big event at surrey central - fireworks, bands etc

they out do vancouver

surrey use to have that went only 2 years then they stoped it
i'm actually kind a pissed they did cause it was nice get drunk with people then stumble down to central to watch the fireworks was awesome

[Yume-sama]

surrey use to have that went only 2 years then they stoped it
i'm actually kind a pissed they did cause it was nice get drunk with people then stumble down to central to watch the fireworks was awesome

Probably why they stopped it... :sly: :P

[Whalleyboy]

Probably why they stopped it... :sly: :P

they wouldnt let anyone drunk enough in plus there right by central so drunk people where there anyways

[zivan56]

So apparently a bunch of people counted down on Granville street. The police were basically forcing people onto the sidewalks by walking side to side in the middle of Granville and videotaping everyone. They also parked police cars and other vehicles in the middle as well. What's the point of closing the street to traffic if you are forcing people to stay on the sidewalks? And most importantly of all, why are they videotaping people who aren't doing anything wrong???

[nickinacan]

surrey use to have that went only 2 years then they stoped it
i'm actually kind a pissed they did cause it was nice get drunk with people then stumble down to central to watch the fireworks was awesome

I think there was an issue with space, or lack of it. I don't think that Surrey did anything this year actually. Maybe when they finally get the civic plaza built, you may see something happen once more.

[Whalleyboy]

I think there was an issue with space, or lack of it. I don't think that Surrey did anything this year actually. Maybe when they finally get the civic plaza built, you may see something happen once more.

the first year it seem lacking but the second year they stretched out in the rec centres parking and it seem like they had plenty of room by doing that

[Distill3d]

as i was wondering around Canada Place yesterday taking pictures, I wondered why the Convention Center didn't host a free (or reasonably inexpensive) concert inside, and had fireworks outside.

Library Square would be a good location too, but for the crowd that would fill the area, it seems likely that it is too small.

Granville should have its own Times Square-esque event if anything. just shut the street down like on Halloween and have a giant street party.

I'm genuinely surprised and disappointed by the lack of effort put into planning for New Years Eve celebrations in the individual cities here as well. like even in North Vancouver, there could've been a party at Lonsdale Quay or neighboring Waterfront Park. Coquitlam could've had celebrations at like Lafarge Lake...so and so forth.

[jlousa]

It boils down to money, find a sponsor willing to foot the bill and we'll have a new years party. The tough part would be to find someone that isn't a liqour or tabacco company. Maybe Telus, as I beleive New Years is one of the busiest days of the year for calls. Besides they need an event to complete against Rogers Santa Claus parade.

[nova9]

It boils down to money, find a sponsor willing to foot the bill and we'll have a new years party. The tough part would be to find someone that isn't a liqour or tabacco company. Maybe Telus, as I beleive New Years is one of the busiest days of the year for calls. Besides they need an event to complete against Rogers Santa Claus parade.

Indeed. And Telus doesn't seem to be a huge sponsor of many events - I'm sure they are smaller sponsors but do they have a marquee event with their name on it? But yeah, they're totally viable. That or get Bell to do it now with their increasing presence in BC.

Just a side note, I know Seattle gets fireworks off the Space Needle but, to be honest, they're a little lacklustre and there doesn't seem to be much anything else than show up, wait for midnight, then leave. ALBEIT, anything is better than nothing!

Their show is sponsored by KING (NBC) correct? Why aren't BC-CTV or GlobalBC or even CityTV in on anything like that? They were busy showing reruns of the late night talk shows for chrissakes!

[Distill3d]

Indeed. And Telus doesn't seem to be a huge sponsor of many events - I'm sure they are smaller sponsors but do they have a marquee event with their name on it?

they sponsor a PGA Tour event during the summer. i think its only been in Alberta so far.

Why aren't BC-CTV or GlobalBC or even CityTV in on anything like that? They were busy showing reruns of the late night talk shows for chrissakes!

Global does the Santa parade, but i do see your point. the TV stations here should be spearheading this idea. maybe we should start an email campaign?

[SpongeG]

yah i was watching king

they had a 7 minute fire works show launched off the space needle it was pretty cool

watch it every year

me and my friends were going to go down to seattle a few years ago fir it but ended up going to portland instead

[LotusLand]

I like the email campaign idea. Lets do it. Lets also email Telus and the city while we are at it. After all the city needs to pick a venue to host it.

[Distill3d]

I like the email campaign idea. Lets do it. Lets also email Telus and the city while we are at it. After all the city needs to pick a venue to host it.

agreed, but lets not put all our eggs in the Telus basket. lets email Shaw and a few other Mega-Corporations while we're at it. at least with Shaw they could broadcast it on the local Shaw TV channels....

is there anyone here with any big event planning experience?

[mezzanine]

Off topic somewhat, but it seems like a shame that they are re-opening traffic on granville after the C-line opens. with buses to seymore and howe, I think that we can turn granville to a permanent car-free pedestrian mall from georgia to smithe (robosn still goes thru), and then we can plan for something more substantial downtown wrt festivals.

In all fairness to the VPD, since they had no formal plan for celebrations at georgia and granvile, they did their best to keep people moving. The Stanley Cup riots aren't that distant. At least let's get Vancouver City Center station built before the Chavs get to it...

I remember first night at the central library a few years ago was cancelled due to drunks that crashed the family-freindly events :sly: . The one planned at granville island actually was a fizzle - fog even rolled in before midnight, obscuring the small firework display...:shrug:

[mr.x]

^ actually, I believe the Granville Island party was canceled due to excess crowds. There were 25,000 people at the tiny island (which is a good indicator for the turnout if a real event were put on).

[nova9]

I remember first night at the central library a few years ago was cancelled due to drunks that crashed the family-freindly events :sly: .

But I'm sure other events in the city and in other cities get their fair share of bridge-and-tunnel rowdiness. Any NYE celebration would not be worse or better than any of those events.

Perhaps they're taking their actions on Granville (which by and large are successful) and learning how to apply them better to large crowd scenarios. And when the VPD feel they are able to handle, they may be more willing to police a large central NYE event.

Oh yeah, and I agree with our email idea.

[mezzanine]

But I'm sure other events in the city and in other cities get their fair share of bridge-and-tunnel rowdiness. Any NYE celebration would not be worse or better than any of those events.


'First Night' is considered a family-friendly event and alcohol free. (http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2006/12/29/bc-first-night.html)That being said, organizers must have been smoking dope when they decided to put a family-oriented event so close to the Granville Entertainment block.

^ actually, I believe the Granville Island party was canceled due to excess crowds. There were 25,000 people at the tiny island (which is a good indicator for the turnout if a real event were put on).

If it was that successful, then there would be even more impetus to continue on with it and sponsorship should be easy.

Personally, I went to the one (?2002) on Granville Island and it really was... lame. Aside from the fireworks let-down, the venues were too distantly spaced apart to get critical mass, there wasn't a lot of entertainment that they had planned, and the market, ECIAD and other buildings were closed.

Personally, the first night mis-hits could be resolved by better programming (keep it at the island to deter drunk chavs, and focus on the above!)

[Yume-sama]

For New Years we could watch the Hong Kong New Years celebrations on big screens on Robson / Granville :haha:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyDrc5qBaRs&feature=hd

Or the one in Sydney...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7UbL4nfeJE&feature=hd

[mr.x]

^ i saw the Hong Kong one in 2008, this time last year. It was absolutely stunning.

[Yume-sama]

I've yet to purposely go anywhere for New Years. I may have to after watching the Sydney celebration. :yes:

[crazyjoeda]

With the re-design of Granville I hope more city events downtown will be possible. It would be nice if an out door public event could be put on; especially for 2010 because 2010 is suppose to be our year. Vancouver is a fairly important city internationally so it is pretty sad that the city does nothing for NYE.

I spent NYE in London for 2006 and it was really awesome to see fireworks going off the London Eye. Huge crowds though, I got a partially obstructed view. I don't see why we can't they have fireworks here for NYE??

[agrant]

:previous: I can see the re-design of Granville starting a NYE event. Maybe not so much formally, but from word of mouth. It might start off small as soon as next year, when the street is complete. Seems like a no-brainer. Once people see there's a place to go it could grow big.

[teriyaki]

^ i saw the Hong Kong one in 2008, this time last year. It was absolutely stunning.

I was there for the 2009 one. Stood right under the IFC2 building. Absolutely incredible, will never forget it.

Vancouver definitely needs to set up SOMETHING.

[mr.x]

I was there for the 2009 one. Stood right under the IFC2 building. Absolutely incredible, will never forget it.

Vancouver definitely needs to set up SOMETHING.

They didn't have the numbers on IFC2 last year....I watched it at Tsim Sha Tsui's waterfront, by the clock tower.

[mr.x]

New Year's fireworks as seen from Pico dos Barcelos, Funchal, Madeira, Portugal...this is massive.
okHJTIUMWjU

[SpongeG]

it gets depressing watch cnn on new years eve - they show all the cities around the world as midnight hits

other than seattle - i don't think any other city in our time zone does anything

[crazyjoeda]

it gets depressing watch cnn on new years eve - they show all the cities around the world as midnight hits

other than seattle - i don't think any other city in our time zone does anything

Seattle doesn't even do much downtown Seattle is to decentralized to host world a world class New Years Eve. L.A has the same problem and I don't know what San Francisco does, so Vancouver has an opportunity to host the flagship celebrations for our time-zone which is the last major time zone in the world to ring in the new year. But I'm not holding my breath. I would love to see fireworks going off the Lions Gate Bridge and off a barge in False Creek.

[SpongeG]

seattle has a huge fireworks show at the space needle

we don't need bands and entertainment just a kick ass fireworks show like they have

http://www.destination360.com/travel/images/s/new-years-seattle.jpg

http://www.philholden.com/photography/blog/SeattleSpaceNeedleFireworks.4.jpg
philholden.com

http://photo.matthewbrowning.net/photos/238297915-M.jpg
matthewbrowning

sDhs_vmIL68

[Yume-sama]

*gasp* They copied our Christmas tree on top thingy! :P