Montreal Wish Lantern Festival cancelled

Organizers of tonight's Montreal Wish Lantern Festival have cancelled the event after city officials declared it illegal.

The event, which would have seen thousands of flaming lanterns released into the night sky from the Mount Royal lookout, was deemed a fire hazard.

The festival'sFacebookeventpage had more than 40,000 people saying they were interested in attending, and more than 11,000 saying they would attend.

The page now lists the event as "cancelled" with no explanation from its organizers, who had earlier said the festival "won't pose any harm to the city."

The City of Montreal issued a statement last week noting that similar events around the world have had "disastrous" consequences. The statement pointstothe riskof setting fires and the impact on the environment, in terms of theamount of litter produced.

Some Canadian provinces have banned thelanterns, including Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island.