VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) – The Virginia Beach Boardwalk sustained damage during the popular 2025 Holiday Lights at the Beach event, prompting city officials to consider a significant reimagining of the annual tradition, a city spokesperson confirmed to WAVY. The city is currently re-examining the event format to address structural concerns and rising maintenance fees.
The 2025 event, which ran from Nov. 14 to Dec. 31, 2025, attracted approximately 21,000 vehicles. City officials said this high volume of traffic strained the boardwalk and decreased the lifespan of the structure.
This was discussed at the Feb. 3 Virginia Beach City Council meeting. “We are actively working with BeachEvents to reinvent our holiday lights into our holiday celebrations across the board while also protecting our invaluable seawall,” said Deputy City Manager City of Virginia Beach Amanda Jarratt. “We look forward to unveiling the new holiday schedule and programming in the coming months. We are absolutely focused on broadening our holiday celebrations at the Oceanfront and working with BeachEvents to have a new and reinvented programming. The Boardwalk, which serves as a seawall, has become stressed over time with the volume of vehicles.”…