Vivid Festival cancels remaining drone shows for 2026
Vivid has officially canceled its much-hyped drone show after an “unforeseen technical issue” caused nearly 90 drones to plunge into Darling Harbor on Monday night.
Drone displays were planned for most nights of the citywide festival, but organizers said those displays will be replaced by a fireworks display.
In a statement published on Saturday morning, Vivid said that an “unforeseen technical problem” caused the drones to fall from the sky, and that evaluations regarding the incident were continuing by Sky Magic, the British company responsible for the shows.
“Following an unforeseen technical issue at Vivid Sydney on Monday night Star Connected “Due to increased drone performance, Vivid Sydney can confirm that the remaining drone shows planned for this year’s festival will not go ahead,” the statement said.
“Extensive technical, operational and regulatory assessments have been carried out by Sky Magic since the incident.
“While aspects of this work are ongoing, it has been decided that drone performances will not return for the remainder of Vivid Sydney 2026.”
Public safety “will always remain the highest priority and all decisions will be guided by expert technical and regulatory advice”.
At 19.30 on Monday, 83 drones fell into the water. Star Connected The show featured 1,000 drones creating patterns in the sky.
The festival confirmed a recovery process was ongoing and a spokesperson said recovery efforts were “currently being coordinated with the specialist drone operator in consultation with relevant stakeholders and government agencies, including the NSW Environmental Protection Authority.”
“Evaluations are ongoing regarding the safest and most practical approach to rescue operations, including potential environmental considerations regarding UAVs entering water,” they said.
The spokesman added that “visibility conditions” “remain a factor in determining the timing and method of recovery, with operators needing to ensure that any recovery activities can be carried out safely and effectively.”
Sky Magic said Monday’s incident was caused by an unforeseen change in the “radio frequency environment”, which the company described as an “anomaly” not encountered in previous site visits and rehearsals.
The initial incident resulted in the cancellation of shows scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday nights, before on Saturday the festival officially canceled all remaining shows.
The shows were scheduled to take place twice each night from Sunday to Wednesday, with a total of 22 shows over the festival’s 11 nights, ending on June 13. The demonstration featured up to 1,000 drones hovering over the harbor for up to 12 minutes.
The drone show was advertised as a “weather dependent” outdoor show, with the Vivid website advising attendees that shows may be canceled “up to show time if the weather becomes unsafe as advised by specialist operators”.
This is what the festival was supposed to be The biggest drone series everAfter demonstrations were canceled on the advice of police and transport authorities in 2025 Potential crowd crush around Circular Quay In 2024.
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Mostafa Rachwani is a Parramatta reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald. He was previously a Community Affairs correspondent for Guardian Australia.Connect via email.
