Hullo Ferries adds special late night sailing for Beyonce concert

Hullo Ferries ship in Vancouver and Beyonce. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive | A.Ricardo/Shutterstock)

Vancouver Island concertgoers for Monday, September 11’s much-anticipated Beyonce concert in downtown Vancouver will have an added option for getting home right after the event.

Hullo Ferries just announced it has added a post-concert sailing departing Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre, located at the Vancouver Convention Centre’s West Building just north of Jack Poole Plaza.

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The post-concert sailing from downtown Vancouver is currently scheduled to depart at 11:30 pm, and it will arrive in downtown Nanaimo at 12:45 am. Beyonce’s concert at BC Place Stadium is expected to end at around 11 pm.

The company’s ferry terminal is located a short walking distance from Waterfront Station. Concertgoers can take SkyTrain Expo Line from Stadium-Science World Station to quickly reach Waterfront Station, and then walk towards the convention centre.

This 11:30 pm sailing is the other half of an added special fourth roundtrip for this day only — the return sailing after the special addition of an 8:30 pm sailing from Nanaimo.

In the lead-up to last month’s service launch, Hullo Ferries said they would perform special event sailings as a supplemental offering to their regular sailing schedule, and the Beyonce concert sailing now represents the first attempt on providing such a curated service. Hullo Ferries notes they are treating this sailing as a pilot program, which is scheduled purposefully later than the concert stop time with encore.

“We are thrilled to announce our late-night sailings for sports, concerts, and events connecting Islanders to and from the Mainland,” said Alastair Caddick, the CEO of Hullo Ferries, in a statement to Daily Hive Urbanized today.

“At Hullo, we’ve been listening closely to our incredible guests, and we’re excited to deliver exactly what you’ve been asking for. Your feedback matters, and we’re dedicated to making your journey with us unforgettable.”

He adds that Vancouver Island residents should continue to check for sailing schedule updates as more major concerts in downtown Vancouver are lined up for October, November, and December.

Beyonce’s performance in Vancouver on Monday is part of her “Renaissance” world tour.

BC Place Stadium is also scheduled to host major concerts for Coldplay on September 22 and 23, and Guns N’ Roses on October 16. A number of comparatively smaller concerts are also scheduled next door at Rogers Arena over the coming months, including Pink, Bruce Springsteen, Kiss, Jonas Brothers, Travis Scott, Shania Twain, and a double header of Iglesias, Pitbull, and Ricky Martin sharing the stage.

Last weekend’s Ed Sheeran concert set an all-time attendance record of 65,061 spectators for BC Place Stadium.

Throughout the month of September, Hullo Ferries’ regular daily schedule is three round-trips (six sailings), with sailings departing Nanaimo at 6 am, 10 am, and 4:30 pm, and sailings departing Vancouver at 8 am, 12 pm, and 6:30 pm. This is an increase of 50% from the two-week soft launch period in August.

In late September, Hullo Ferries is expected to begin a new free shuttle bus service to eliminate the walking distance between their Nanaimo Port Authority terminal building and downtown Nanaimo.

TransLink is also known for occasionally adding special trains for its West Coast Express commuter rail service to provide eastern Metro Vancouver and Fraser Valley residents with a more convenient way to attend events in downtown Vancouver and get back home.

For example, for this summer’s final night of the Honda Celebration of Light fireworks, the West Coast Express operated a train leaving Mission at 7 pm and arriving at 8:15 pm. The return trip from Waterfront Station departed at midnight, with boarding starting at 11 pm.

BC Ferries is likely not a feasible option for concertgoers, who would otherwise have to miss a significant portion of the concert to reach Horseshoe Bay or Tsawwassen ferry terminals in time, or book a hotel in Vancouver for an overnight stay. This Monday’s latest sailings to Nanaimo on BC Ferries are the sailings departing Horseshoe Bay at 10:40 pm (arriving at 12:20 am) and departing Tsawwassen at 10:45 pm (arriving at 12:45 am).

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