Cost Dispute Cancels Queen Mary Fireworks

The Fourth of July fireworks display at the Queen Mary in Long Beach has been canceled this year because of a dispute over who should pay for police and fire protection, officials said Friday.

The show, which was to mark its 22nd anniversary, has usually drawn tens of thousands of spectators to the retired luxury liner and the Long Beach shoreline.

The display was called off after city officials asked the ship’s operators to foot the bill for as much as $70,000 in police and fire protection, representatives for both sides said.

Joseph Prevratil, president of the RMS Foundation, which operates the Queen Mary, said the public safety charge would have come on top of the $50,000 cost of the display itself.

“It’s just not economically feasible,” Prevratil said.

Until last year, the city and the Queen Mary had split the bill for the show, and the city covered the public safety charges. Then the city decided it could no long co-sponsor such events as the fireworks display and the Long Beach Grand Prix, city spokeswoman Katherine Parsons said.

Now, the city also needs help to cover the costs of extra security, fire protection and trash collection during and after such events, Parsons said. “It’s not that we’re not friendly,” she said. “It’s just the reality of the budget situation right now.”

Prevratil and the city also are at odds over whether he is owed credits against his city rent because of his spending on dockside improvements.