Organizers of the annual Concord Pacific Dragon Boat Festival in Vancouver say the event will be cancelled next year to make way for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Dominic Lai, the operations director with Dragon Boat BC, says the city declined to provide permits for 2026 edition of the festival.
Lai says they have been told Vancouver's host city agreement for World Cup prohibits cultural and sporting events during a certain time frame and also restricts events within a certain radius of BC Place Stadium.
The dragon boat festival usually takes place in late June, with last year's event drawing 200 teams from nine countries.
He says the festival takes place in the restricted area, about 20 metres from the stadium that's set to host seven games during the World Cup next in June.
A statement from Dragon Boat BC says the group had presented the city and the provincial government with different options for locations and time frames for its festival over the last few years, but it had not been successful in finding a solution.
"At this time, there is no confirmed support from the city and the province for the alternate scenarios we have presented," it says.
"Without clear information and support, non-profit organizations like Dragon Boat BC will have to navigate the challenging operational and financial impacts of the host city agreement on their own."
The City of Vancouver directed a request for comment to the B.C. government.
A statement from the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport says it was aware that next year's dragon boat festival has been cancelled.
It says the 2026 FIFA World Cup was announced in 2022, and many event organizers have used the "lead time" to find alternative dates and locations.
Lai says it's not as simple as changing the date, as the dragon boat festival depends on water conditions, the availability of docks and when competitors can attend.
He likened the 2026 FIFA World Cup to "the second pandemic" that is delivering a "substantial" financial blow to his organization.
Lai says hosting the FIFA World Cup is meant to benefit the entire community.
"The legacy of FIFA needs to be one where the community comes out stronger than before," he says.
"That's really important to make sure that … all these community organizations are in a good place to benefit from these impacts after FIFA is gone."
The city and the B.C. government have said hosting seven matches is estimated to generate more than $1 billion in visitor spending and create some 18,000 jobs.
Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns
