This year, we hosted major artists and events that brought thousands of fans to downtown Halifax. Have a look at a few of our favourite moments.
Michael Bublé
After a two-year wait due to pandemic rescheduling, Canada’s king of croon Michael Bublé made his long-awaited visit to Halifax on October 22 for a spectacular sold-out night. Over a two-day installation, Bublé’s travelling entourage included more than 30 pounds of confetti, 16 tractor-trailers, and over 100,000 pounds of rigging for 141 rigging points around the arena. With his multi-level stage and 72-foot catwalk, Bublé’s show was one of the biggest productions at Scotiabank Centre since Cirque de Soleil. To engage Nova Scotia’s arts community, Bublé invited 36 local musicians to play with his five-person rhythm section, 13 horn players, three vocalists, 16 string players, and a 10-person choir. Bublé’s concert was one of our banner events for 2022-23 and the last rescheduled event from previous years.
A Year of Entertainment for All!
This year we welcomed some of entertainment’s biggest musicians, including James Taylor, Jackson Browne, Sting, and ZZ Top. We also saw the return of some of our favourite Canadian and international acts including Blue Rodeo, Jann Arden, Avril Lavigne, Judas Priest, Bryan Adams, The Arkells, Lights, the Australian Pink Floyd Show, The Offspring, Simple Plan, Michael Bublé, and Boney M. To round out our calendar, comedy shows were some of our highest attended events with Canadian actor and comedian Russell Peters, and shows from America’s Netflix stars Trevor Noah, Tom Segura, and John Mulaney.
Basketball Championships
Atlantic University Sport returned to Scotiabank Centre for the 2023 Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships. Ten of the best collegiate teams in the region faced off for a chance to win the trophy and head to the USPORTS Final 8 series to compete nationally. This year, Scotiabank Centre was filled with basketball fans, setting AUS attendance records through the whole February weekend, inviting and encouraging local pride in athletic excellence. The Saint Mary’s Huskies Women’s team took home the banner, and the St. FX Men’s team was the conference champion, and took the title to the USPORT Men’s Final in March, which also broke attendance records.
“The team at Scotiabank Centre are an incredible group to work with—from the executive team to the ushers. We are fortunate to have these people and a facility like Scotiabank Centre in our community. The Halifax and Atlantic Canadian fans make extraordinary efforts to support university sport, which drove us to the best year we’ve ever had at the 2023 Subway AUS Basketball Championships.”
- Phil Currie, President & CEO, Atlantic University Sport
