Crowds at Vivid Sydney were left stunned after dozens of drones plunged from the sky during a major light show malfunction.
The incident occurred during the festival’s new “Star-Bound” drone spectacular above Cockle Bay in Darling Harbour, one of the centrepiece attractions of this year’s event.
Witnesses described seeing drones suddenly break formation before crashing into the harbour and nearby wharves shortly after the 7.30pm show began.
Festival organisers later confirmed that 89 drones fell into the water following what operators described as an “unforeseen change in the radio frequency environment”.
The disruption reportedly interfered with the drones’ positioning systems and triggered automatic failsafe landings. Organisers have now been forced to cancel several upcoming performances over safety fears.
Eyewitnesses said the malfunction unfolded rapidly, with some spectators running as drones dropped close to viewing areas.
One worker at Darling Harbour told the ABC it resembled a “catastrophic failure” and claimed some drones came within metres of people on the wharf.
Despite the alarming scenes, organisers insisted public safety protocols worked as intended and said no drones left the designated exclusion zone. No injuries have been reported.
The later 9.30pm performance was immediately scrapped, while all scheduled drone shows for Tuesday and Wednesday have now been cancelled pending a full technical and safety review.
Authorities are still assessing whether future performances later in the festival will proceed.
The drone show had been heavily promoted as one of the highlights of this year’s festival, featuring around 1,000 drones choreographed to music over Darling Harbour.
It marked the return of large-scale drone performances to Vivid after previous safety concerns led to cancellations in earlier years.
Drone operator SkyMagic said the issue had not appeared during rehearsals or pre-flight testing and defended the crew’s response to the emergency.
The company said unaffected drones were safely grounded once the problem was detected.
Main image courtesy Destination NSW
