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Vivid Sydney Drone Shows Cancelled for Now After Malfunction Saw 89 Drones Fall Into the Harbour
Organisers blamed technical difficulties after almost 90 drones fell into the harbour, prompting a full safety review and cancellations of later shows.
- On Monday, almost 90 drones fell out of formation during Vivid Sydney's 7.30pm Star-Bound show at Darling Harbour, forcing cancellations of both evening performances and Wednesday shows for a full technical and safety review.
- Vivid had planned its largest ever drone series this year—22 shows over 11 nights—marking a return after 2025 cancellations stemming from crowd safety concerns at Circular Quay, with director Brett Sheehy announcing in March the festival had secured 'the latest drone technology'.
- Operator SkyMagic attributed the malfunction to an 'unforeseen change in the radio frequency' that caused 89 drones to enact failsafe procedures, while eyewitness Robert described a 'cascading failure' with drones progressively dropping into Cockle Bay audible from 10 to 20 metres away.
- Vivid cancelled Tuesday and Wednesday performances pending assessment, with at least five of the 22 planned shows set to be scrapped, as the festival stated 'public safety is always the number one priority' with specialist operators and government agencies now conducting safety reviews.
- No injuries resulted from Monday's incident, though a similar 2023 malfunction over Victoria Harbour in Melbourne destroyed 427 drones, prompting the Australian Transport Safety Bureau and Civil Aviation Safety Authority to investigate the latest failure.
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Vivid Sydney cancels shows after 89 drones plunge into Darling Harbour
Event organisers blame ‘unforeseen technical difficulties’ for the drone malfunction, with four performances cancelled Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast About 90 drones have plummeted from the sky and plunged into Sydney’s Darling Harbour during an aerial drone show, prompting a [...]
Coverage Details
Total News Sources11
Leaning Left4Leaning Right2Center2Last UpdatedBias Distribution50% Left
Bias Distribution
- 50% of the sources lean Left
50% Left
L 50%
C 25%
R 25%
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