REVscene Automotive Forum - Juno bonanza sweeps into Vancouver

The biggest musical event in the country is expected to inject up to $10 million into the Vancouver economy over the next four days.

The 2009 Juno Awards and street party hits Vancouver tonight and as many as 50,000 music fans are expected to converge on downtown, to soak up sounds from hundreds of B.C. and Canadian performers.

Tourism Vancouver spokesman Richard Yore said 4,000 room-nights are booked, which alone will generate $1.1 million.

"It really has become sort of like Grey Cup," Yore said yesterday.

The Juno street festival is a dry run for the 2010 Olympic street celebrations, he said.

"It's like a mini-test case," he said. "It's a big opportunity to show that the city will get us geared up."

The B.C. government has pitched in $650,000 toward the Junos, and Tourism Minister Bill Bennett said it's a great opportunity to show off B.C.'s musical talent.

"It's an opportunity for us to toot our own horn on the national stage," Bennett said.

Juno organizer Bob D'Eith said: "This is going to be the biggest one yet. It's only the last couple of weeks that people have woken up and said, 'Holy crap, this is going to be huge.' "

The Junos kick off on Granville Street, starting at 4 p.m., with a free public party headlined by Victoria band Hot Hot Heat.

Eleven B.C. acts are nominated for Juno honours, including Michael Bublé, Bryan Adams, Hedley and Sarah McLachlan.

"It's a live concert," said Chris McDowall of the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, which is the Juno umbrella group.

"They will never be on the same stage together again."

Tickets are still available for the Sunday night Juno awards show at GM Place, which will feature live performances by Adams and McLachlan, as well as Nickelback and Sam Roberts.

Only one event — the Saturday night gala awards dinner at the Westin Bayshore — is sold out.

All other events are either free, or have tickets, mostly in the $15-to-$30 range.

There will be traffic closures in the 800- and 900-block Granville Street and around GM Place until Sunday.

Charles Gauthier, executive director of the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association, said that, after years of "construction fatigue," Granville merchants badly wanted a street party.

"All the businesses will benefit, to varying degrees," Gauthier said. "We see this as a plus for the long term and the short term for businesses on the street."

Phil Orr of Granville Entertainment Group., which owns The Roxy and Doolin's Irish Pub, is bringing a bus-load of patrons from Whistler for tonight's Juno opening. The company's Comfort Inn Hotel is fully booked.

"This event is absolutely fantastic for us," said Orr. "For the street, it's absolutely superb."

The Juno Awards show starts at 4:30 p.m., but fans will converge on GM Place between 3 and 4 p.m. for a glimpse of the stars walking the red carpet.

The last SkyTrain leaves downtown Sunday at 12:15 a.m., and the night bus service leaves downtown every 30 minutes, between 1:30 and 3:09 a.m.

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