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The inaugural ELEVATE Sydney festival held at the beginning of January presented the largest-ever drone display presented in the Southern Hemisphere, lighting up Sydney Harbour with 500 drones.

An indicator of the potential of drones for major events - with the potential to replace environment damaging fireworks - the event used cutting-edge technology, art and a First Nations narrative to deliver a new form of night-time entertainment.

Backed by music, the 500 Intel® drones performed in between the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge each night from 1st to 5th January.

Delivered by AGB Events, which had been commissioned by Destination NSW, the event team included Creative Director, Anthony Bastic; First Nations Advisors Rhoda Roberts; musician Rhyan Clapham; along with Senior Producer Olivia Bradley.

Designed to activate Sydney’s CBD, AGB Events collaborated with Australian drone consulting company Mirragin and drone experts from Intel who were responsible for the spectacular display at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games.

Commenting on the event, Bastic explained “the innovation and technology offered by Drones is really exciting - they are environmentally friendly with zero emissions, you can create a narrative and tell a story, and the possibilities are endless - they really are the future of major events.

“The collaboration created a first for Sydney resulted in something special. The coupling of technologies and applying them to outdoor public events greatly enhances the audience experience and will certainly set a benchmark for future Australian events.”

To enliven Sydney Cove, Mandylights was brought in to enhance the Sydney night skies with striking light projections, programming sixty mBeam searchlights from multiple locations around the Harbour.

As a further enhancement, AGB engaged international augmented reality artist Charles Clapshaw of Future of Art, to overlay an augmented reality experience to the drone show. Visitors scanned the QR codes on site and enjoyed added visual elements, further enhancing their live experience.

In addition to commissioning by Destination NSW, the ELEVATE Sydney SkyShow team was also supported by key landowners and government agencies, including the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, Transport for NSW, the Overseas Passenger Terminal and Ports Authority, and NSW Place Management.

Bastic went on to say “we’re very grateful for the support and efforts of the many agencies who have worked with us to realise this project. This is an industry we really want to nurture and promote, the Intel Pilots travelling to Australia and sharing their knowledge is an amazing opportunity to grow the expertise of local drone operators.”

Images of EKEVAT Sydney courtesy of AGB Events.

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