DARLING HARBOUR — Vivid Sydney canceled all remaining drone shows after 83 drones fell into Darling Harbour on Monday during a performance called Star-Bound. The incident occurred when an unforeseen technical issue caused the drones to lose positional accuracy, resulting in 83 plunging into Cockle Bay and six landing on a boardwalk.
The drone operator, UK-based Skymagic, attributed the failure to an “unforeseen change in the radio frequency environment occurring after take-off.” Dyfan Rhys, head of operations and production at Skymagic, said the disruption compromised the fleet’s navigation systems. “Early indications show there was no foul play present, but we are still investigating all possibilities,” Rhys said. He added, “Despite the dramatic images circulating on social media, the public was not at risk.”
Drones experiencing issues encountered the geofence boundary and shut down automatically to preserve the safety zone. The pilot team managed to lock the main drone fleet stationary in the air while evaluating the situation. No injuries were reported from the incident.
Vivid Sydney initially canceled four drone performances scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday as a precaution while operators completed a full technical and safety review. On Saturday, the festival confirmed it had canceled all remaining drone shows scheduled over the next two weeks. Vivid stated, “Public safety remains the absolute priority and all decisions have been guided by expert technical and regulatory advice.” Vivid said in a statement, “We understand this will be disappointing for audiences and appreciate the public’s understanding.” The festival added that “providing certainty for visitors, residents and event attendees as Vivid Sydney continues over the coming weeks has also been an important consideration in making this decision.” Fireworks displays will now replace the drone shows at previously scheduled times, complementing the Laser Lightfall experience in Darling Harbour.
The drone show, featuring 1,000 purpose-built drones, had returned this year after being canceled in the previous year due to crowd control concerns. Vivid Sydney runs until 13 June.