Vivid Sydney’s drone show became a drone rainstorm
After being canceled last year over safety concerns, Vivid Sydney’s drone show returned this week and immediately dove 89 drones into the water. That is one way to answer the safety question.
The operator, SKYMAGIC, blamed “an unforeseen change in the radio frequency environment” after takeoff, which reportedly caused part of the fleet to trigger failsafe landing procedures. The pilot team stopped the show, held the remaining drones in place, and brought the unaffected drones back safely.
The festival says the cancellations are for a full technical and safety review. Probably wise, as “the sky robots are falling into the harbor” is one of the clearer signs that a light show desperately needs a safety something.
This was supposed to be the drone show’s big return after Vivid skipped it last year over safety concerns. Instead, Sydney got lights, drama, and a small robot hail storm.