Peter Gabriel recounts 1983 rescue as plan to reduce Vancouver lifeguards is reversed
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VANCOUVER – A plan to cut lifeguards at Vancouver beaches has been reversed but not before it drew a response from musician Peter Gabriel, who recounted his own rescue from waters off a city beach ahead of a tour stop with David Bowie in 1983.
The Vancouver Park Board issued a statement Friday saying it has directed staff to continue providing lifeguards at nine beaches this summer, scrapping a plan to reduce the service to five locations that see the most visitors and interventions.
Park Board chair Tom Digby says it was a “difficult decision in the current fiscal environment,” but officials needed to make sure Vancouver’s beaches are safe.
Former Vancouver lifeguard Andrea Nicholson says the plan to cut lifeguards prompted her to send an email that reached Gabriel’s executive assistant, and the former Genesis frontman issued a response saying he was “alarmed.”
Gabriel says in the reply, which was forwarded to Nicholson from his assistant, that he was caught in a riptide while trying to swim back to shore during an outing as a “novice windsurfer.”
Gabriel says that before he was swept out to deeper waters, he put all his energy into reaching a final buoy, grabbed it and waved his orange vest, eventually catching the attention of someone who alerted lifeguards.
He says in the response that he was grateful to be picked up, and he was able to perform with Bowie that night at BC Place stadium.
Nicholson, who was working at another beach at the time, says she attended the show, where Gabriel thanked the lifeguards who rescued him.
She welcomed the news the Park Board will keep lifeguards at the Spanish Banks west and east, Locarno, Jericho, Kitsilano, Sunset, English Bay, Second and Third beaches this summer, but says funding for the service should never be in jeopardy.
“It should be a sustainable budget piece, and so hopefully they’ve learned this time.”
Nicholson says local residents expect lifeguards, and it’s important to continue the service as visitors flock to Vancouver for the FIFA World Cup next month.
The Park Board says the reversal is the result of a one-time reallocation of $600,000, diverted from planned upgrades at the Kensington Community Centre, but funding would need to be established in future budgets moving forward.
The decision removes lifeguards from Trout Lake, where a water quality study is underway until the end of next year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 2, 2026.
