Victoria Symphony Splash is an annual event held in

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

on the Sunday before

British Columbia Day British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

. The event is produced by the

Victoria Symphony The Victoria Symphony is a Canadian orchestra based in Victoria, British Columbia. It is considered Vancouver Island's largest and best-known performing arts organization. Currently conducted by Danish conductor Christian Kluxen, the orchestra used ...

and consists of the Victoria Symphony playing, live on a barge, in the middle of Victoria's Inner Harbour. Also included in the event is a very large fireworks display, as well as live cannon fire, during the

1812 Overture ''The Year 1812, Solemn Overture'', Op. 49, popularly known as the ''1812 Overture'', is a concert overture in E major written in 1880 by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The piece commemorates Russia's successful defense against the ...

. The free event leads to about 40,000 spectators gathered around the Victoria waterfront, as well as on the grounds of the

British Columbia Parliament Buildings The British Columbia Parliament Buildings are in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, and are home to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. The Speaker and the Sergeant-at-Arms are amongst those responsible for the legislative precinc ...

and The Empress Hotel. It is one of the largest annual symphony events in North America. Hundreds of people gather in boats and kayaks to watch the concert. Each year, a young soloist is a featured performer with the orchestra. The event in 2020 was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. The 2021 event was also cancelled. In 2022, the event was replaced with a ten-day "Splash Around Town" music festival. The full event is returning in 2025.

References

External links

Victoria SymphonyVictoria Symphony Splash
{{coord, 48.4247, N, 123.3748, W, display=title Events in Victoria, British Columbia Music festivals in British Columbia Tourist attractions in Victoria, British Columbia Classical music festivals in Canada