In a 9-1 vote tonight, Vancouver City Council approved a partnership with Canadian promoter of the Formula E World Championship to bring the all-electric, open wheel vehicle race event to the city at no cost to the municipal government.
The 2022 Vancouver E-Prix already has the support of Formula E, which has been waiting for city council to make its final decision.
City councillors Sarah Kirby-Yung and Michael Wiebe brought forth a proposal to bring a Formula E World Championship series race to Vancouver next summer. According to their motion, the city has been approached by the OSS Group to stage the race weekend in July of next year in the False Creek area.
In addition to all the festivities that come with an all-electric, open wheel vehicle race, the weekend event would feature musical and cultural events, and a conference focusing on climate change and sustainability.
“The real driving force for me is around looking at COVID-19’s economic recovery, and the importance of having economic stimulus events, particularly for our hard-hit tourism sector,” said Kirby-Yung to the Vancouver Sun.
“And it is a net-zero (emission) event, certified by the UN. And it’s not just the race element in terms of demonstrating electrified transportation. And the idea of bringing that level of dialogue into the city with leading experts from the electrification space as we work towards sustainable transportation will have a lot of benefits for the city.”
Last modified: May 1, 2021
