Cockle Bay wharf worker Robert heard the crash before he saw the lights go out. “The sound of them physically crash and smash onto the cement marina was considerable,” he said, describing the moment 89 drones from Vivid Sydney’s Star-Bound show fell into Darling Harbour on 25 May.
On the second night of the annual light festival, at 7:30pm, 89 of approximately 1,000 drones malfunctioned and fell from the sky. Eighty-three splashed into Cockle Bay and six landed on boardwalks and a footbridge. No spectators or workers were hurt, and the operator said all drones stayed within the safety exclusion zone.
The festival immediately cancelled drone shows scheduled for 26 and 27 May. The Sunday evening performance on 31 May remains under review while the Australian Transport Safety Bureau investigates what caused the drone fleet to fail so dramatically.
Skymagic head of operations and production Dyfan Rhys told the ABC there were no safety concerns during the display. “It’s really important to hammer home that there were no safety concerns at that show,” he said.
A Vivid Sydney spokesperson said the drone operators cancelled the show “in line with standard safety protocols.” Festival organisers stressed that all other light installations across the city continue as planned until the event ends on 10 June.
Robert, who works on the wharf and did not want his full name published, described a cascading failure. “Everything seemed normal and then very shortly after that first image was displayed, on the southern side of Cockle Bay you started seeing drones dropping in the water and then from there it was a cascading failure of the drones,” he said. He added the noise was “considerable even from probably 10 to 15 or 20 metres away.”
Spectator Adam Love told the Sydney Morning Herald that the drones appeared to enter a test pattern moments before they began dropping. Social media users shared footage and expressed alarm about lithium batteries entering the harbour.
Skymagic attributed the malfunction to an “unforeseen change in the radio frequency environment” after take-off. That positional inaccuracy triggered failsafe landing procedures, causing drones to enact water landings within the designated safety zone rather than attempt to keep flying.
Divers have been retrieving the 89 drones from Cockle Bay to prevent lithium-ion battery leakage and pollution. The ATSB investigation will examine environmental and technical factors, including possible interference.
If you are planning to attend a drone show at Vivid this year, check the official website for updates. All remaining performances are suspended while safety clearance is sought. Other waterfront light installations and projections are unaffected and continue nightly.
This year’s Star-Bound show was the largest drone display Vivid has attempted with 1,000 units, and the event had not experienced a major malfunction before. Unlike laser or projection elements that ran without interruption, the drone component needs full technical sign-off before it can return.
For now, the shattered plastic and circuitry of nearly 90 drones sit under the harbour, awaiting recovery. Above the water, Vivid’s other lights keep shining.
Quick Facts
Vivid Sydney
Annual three-week festival of light, music and ideas held across Sydney waterfront precincts, featuring large-scale installations, projections and events that attract millions of visitors each year.