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26th annual Celebration of Light kicks off this weekend

The show starts at 10 p.m. on Saturday, July 23.

Photo via Celebration of Light Facebook page.

On July 23, 27 and 30, thousands of people will gather around English Bay to watch the glorious spectacle that is the Honda Celebration of Light fireworks.

The event is the longest running off-shore fireworks competition in the world and one of the largest events hosted in Vancouver. This year's competition will feature the Netherlands, Australia and the United States.

Traffic is sure to be a nightmare and vehicle access will be limited for the event, so it may be best to stick to transit, walking, and biking.

Only residents will be able to drive in the Kits Point and West End neighbourhoods for much of the evening. Kits point will be closed to outside traffic from 6 PM to 11:30 PM and parts of the West End will be closed form 7:30 PM to 11:30 PM.

During the event, pedestrians will be able to access the Canada Line via Burnaby Street, Yaletown Station via Beach Avenue, and the Georgia Street bus routes via Guildford Street.

There will be 12 viewing points around English Bay to give people the best experience, with signs marked "A" through "L." 

The city urges those who attend to behave themselves, follow all the rules normally in place in Vancouver's public parks.

For more details, visit hondacelebrationoflight.com 

For day-of information about the event, check Twitter at: @CityofVancouver, @TransLink, @VancouverPD, @VanFireRescue, @CelebOfLight.

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