Dozens of drones crash into Sydney harbour after light show glitch

Almost 90 drones fell from the sky over Sydney's Darling Harbour during a popular winter light show, with footage showing devices splashing into the water, close to crowds.

Organisers of Vivid Sydney, an annual three-week festival that features large light installations, said the malfunction on Monday evening, local time, was due to "unforeseen technical difficulties" and has cancelled two upcoming shows.

Footage of Monday's show captured dozens of drones as they tumbled out of the night sky, leaving bystanders confused by the aerial display.

Skymagic, the UK company behind the show, blamed a change in radio frequency for the glitch and said none of the drones fell outside safety boundaries.

"The sound of them crashing on the wharf was considerable even from probably 10 to 15 or 20 metres away; you could hear them physically crash and smash onto the cement marina," a Darling Harbour worker named Robert told the national broadcaster ABC.

"During the performance on the evening of 25 May, Skymagic experienced a technical issue that resulted in 89 drones landing in the water around Cockle Bay," a Skymagic spokesperson said, referring to the wharf area in Darling Harbour.

The main cause was "an unforeseen change in the radio frequency environment occurring after take-off," Skymagic said, triggering some drones "to enact failsafe landing procedures in response to compromised positional accuracy".

A Vivid Sydney spokesperson apologised for the "disappointment and inconvenience caused to attendees" and said the drone operators cancelled the show "in line with standard safety protocols".

Festival organisers said Skymagic and government agencies will conduct a full assessment before it makes a decision on the remaining schedule of shows.

Called Star-Bound, the drone show features up to 1,000 purpose-built drones in an aerial display lasting up to 12 minutes.

The first shows started on Sunday and it was slated to host 22 shows over 11 nights over the next three weeks.

Vivid Sydney debuted drone shows as part of its programme in 2024, with large crowds attending the displays. Last year, it decided not to host any drone shows due to overcrowding concerns.

Vivid Sydney started in 2009 and bills itself as the "Southern Hemisphere's largest festival of light, music, ideas and food" and features a free 6.5km walk with 43 light installations.

Thousands of locals and tourists flock to events around Sydney Harbour and central Sydney, including colourful visuals projected onto the sails of the Sydney Opera House.