Vivid Sydney cancels all drone shows after 83 drones plunged into Darling Harbour | Vivid festival
Vivid Sydney has canceled all remaining drone shows and ordered a “full evaluation” of its aerial light show after 83 drones fell from the sky in Darling Harbor this week.
On Monday, viewers watched as a performance called Star-Bound suddenly went wrong and “unforeseen technical difficulties” caused 83 drones to plunge into the waters of Cockle Bay and six to land on the boardwalk. No injuries were reported.
Four shows were canceled on Tuesday and Wednesday as a precaution while operators completed a full technical and safety review. On Saturday, Vivid confirmed that all drone demonstrations planned for the next two weeks had also been cancelled.
Vivid said in a statement that its team “understands this will be disappointing for viewers and appreciates the public’s understanding” but that a technical and security review led to the cancellation decision.
“Providing certainty to visitors, residents and event attendees as Vivid Sydney continues over the coming weeks was also an important consideration in making this decision,” Vivid said in a statement.
“Fireworks displays will now complement the Laser Lightfall experience at Darling Harbor at times previously scheduled for drone displays, adding another layer of spectacle to the Vivid Sydney celebrations.
“Public safety remains the absolute priority and all decisions are guided by expert technical and regulatory advice.”
Skymagic, the UK-based operator of the drone show, said in a statement that “an unforeseen change in the radio frequency environment after takeoff” had compromised the fleet’s location accuracy.
“Early indications suggest there was no foul play, but we are still investigating all possibilities,” Dyfan Rhys, Skymagic’s head of operations and production, said on Tuesday.
Rhys said the public was not at risk despite dramatic images circulating on social media.
While the pilot team managed to securely lock the main fleet in the air to assess the situation, the troublesome drones encountered the geofence limit.
“[They] “It was closed to protect the safety zone,” he said, resulting in 83 people falling into the harbor and six landing on the coastal boardwalk.
The drone show was canceled last year due to crowd control issues but returned this year, heralded as Australia’s “most comprehensive” event of its kind. It includes 1,000 purpose-built drones built specifically for large-scale air shows.
Live Sydney runs until June 13.
