MONTREAL -- Montreal's international fireworks competition, a colourful highlight of summer in the city, has been cancelled, organizers announced Thursday.
The decision to cancel this summer's edition was made "with a heavy heart," Janine Durette, president of La Ronde - the theme park where the fireworks competition takes place - announced in a statement Thursday, and was made due to the public-health orders that have been issued by different levels of government in hopes of slowing the spread of COVID-19.
The 36th edition of the competition was scheduled to take place June 20 to July 29.
The announcement comes two days after the city of Montreal announced that all festivals, cultural events and other public gatherings have been cancelled through July 2.
Virtually all major Montreal events - including the Montreal International Jazz Festival, Just for Laughs and Montreal's Formula One Grand Prix race - have already been cancelled for this summer or postponed.
Durette said the fireworks competition will return in 2021.
