The PNE will not go ahead in Vancouver this summer

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Another event has been cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, with Pacific National Exhibition (PNE) organizers saying the annual fair will not go ahead this summer.

Management says the PNE would not be financially viable under anticipated public health orders, saying even a modified, lower capacity in-person PNE will not be possible.

“It’s not something we’ve chosen lightly,” spokesperson Laura Ballance said Wednesday. “We’ve had incredible amounts of discussion, consideration, there’s been a core team that has worked so hard to develop different, scalable models, depending on what might be possible this summer. But I think it’s become evidently clear this week with Dr. Henry’s comments that there will be no scenario that could make the PNE Fair for 2021 financially viable.”

This summer would have marked the 111th Fair at the PNE. Ballance says the event is the largest-ticketed event in a normal year in B.C.

A loss of jobs

Ballance tells NEWS 1130 the PNE is the largest employer of youth in the province, and that the team knows what implications cancelling the summertime event will have on staff, exhibitor and concessionaire partners, as well as the community.

The PNE provides 4,300 direct jobs, as well as 9,500 indirect jobs, including 4,200 union members.

“Losing the second year of the PNE Fair is a massive loss of much needed employment for our members,” said CUPE 1004 President Andrew Ledger. “We are deeply concerned about the thousands of CUPE members that depend on the Fair each summer to pay their way through school or to help support their families.”

News of the PNE’s cancellation comes just days after Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart put out a plea to Victoria for millions of dollars in financing to keep the event alive over the longterm.

Alternate ways to connect

Ballance says that while the PNE will not be held in its usual capacity this year, organizers will continue to work with the province to see “what might be possible as the summer progresses.”

However, she notes that events held in 2020, such as the drive-thru, were not “money makers.”

“We’ll be looking at a number of ways to engage with our guests and our fans,” she explained. “We did do the drive throughs last year, and those were incredibly successful for us to hear from British Columbia how important the PNE was as a part of their end-of-summer traditions in this province. But I need to say, it was done to support our staff, to give employment that was so needed to as many people as we could, and to bring in some concessioner partners and exhibitors. It did not make money for the corporation — we did is as a way of trying to support our extended staff team family.”

That said, Ballance adds those kinds of events aren’t completely off the table this year.

-With files from Kurtis Doering