Vancouver City Council has given the green light to push ahead with plans for a Formula E race next year, as part of plans to “support recovery of the gutted tourism sector”.
Canada hasn’t hosted a Formula E race since the 2016-17 season, with Montreal playing host to a double-header season finale.
Formula E bosses are keen to retain a presence in North America and recently confirmed a return to New York. However Canada is also seen as a destination event for the championship, and series boss Jamie Reigle visited Vancouver earlier this year to discuss the proposal.
The city council voted 9-1 in favour – with Mayor Kennedy Stewart absent – of partnering with Montreal-based One Stop Strategy Group to bring Formula E to the city next year.
The proposed location for the street circuit is False Creek, which is a short inlet in the heart of the city, separating downtown from the rest of the city.
The event is set to include a “two-day Creative Business Conference focused on climate and sustainability, two music concerts” as well as the one-day race.
OSS Group CEO, Matthew Carter, is hopeful they can prove this new weekend concept and run it in various other cities around the world.
“We were approached by Formula E to look for a city to host a race in Canada. We decided Vancouver was the best fit. What we’re offering is much more than just a Formula E race,” said Carter.
“The three components with the business conference, the concerts, and the race is very unique. It’s a unique concept even to Formula E, and it’s a model we hope to showcase in Vancouver and to prove that the concept works,” he explained.
“And then maybe, I’m hoping that this will become the jewel, Formula E’s crown, and they’ll take this business model to other cities around the world.”
