Prime Minister speaks out after cancellation of Vivid drone show

Minns said that “we are determined to see more of this in Sydney, particularly over the next 12 months. This one did not come to fruition, but there will be many other opportunities in the months and years to come. »

They called as late as possible – not to bother the families, but to see if they could continue the program.

NSW Premier Chris Minns on the cancellation of Vivid Sydney’s drone show on Saturday.

The festival of light officially ended on Saturday at 11 p.m. after having taken place since May 24. However, the drone show was only scheduled for three evenings of the program.

Organizers had previously said “large crowds were expected for the drone show”, adding that drone operation “is very sensitive and depends on weather conditions”.

One TikTok user said she thought the decision should have been announced “at least 2 hours earlier instead of 30 minutes.” Another said she was “(a) little disappointed because the weather wasn’t that bad.”

“Public safety is paramount”

The drones were operated by the Australian Traffic Network (ATN), which has previously created drone shows for State of Origin and Vivid.

ATN Chief Executive Vic Lorusso said in a statement Sunday that “(our) pilot in command made the difficult but critical decision to cancel the final drone show last night.”

“The decision was driven by the pilot experience, forecast rainfall and continued monitoring by the Bureau of Meteorology for 2.5 hours before the planned launch. During this period, we have been tracking the approach of a significant weather cell, which is expected to coincide with our flight time,” he said.

“The risk of launching drones in such conditions was too great. Flying in poor weather conditions could cause drones to malfunction or crash, posing significant risks to public safety.

Lorousso told ABC Radio Sydney that “we had two incredible drone shows last weekend.”

“We’re as disappointed as everyone else, but I’m happy we’re not going to throw them and have a malfunction.”

A Vivid Sydney spokesperson said: “We are very disappointed that our latest drone show has been canceled and we apologize for any inconvenience caused. The operation of drones is very sensitive and the shows depend on the weather.

“Public safety is paramount and Vivid Sydney is following the guidance and advice of specialist drone operators.”

In one incident at a light show in Melbourne last July, drones fell from the sky and plunged into the Yarra River before a Matildas football match at Marvel Stadium. No one was hurt.

Vivid Sydney narrowly avoided disaster last weekend when crowds gathered on Sydney Harbor to get a glimpse of the drone show, one of the main attractions of the annual festival.

After the show ended at around 9:20 p.m. on June 8, a bottleneck formed near the Overseas Passenger Terminal as crowds made their way to Circular Quay and Wynyard stations.

“We have learned our lessons”

Asked about the crowds around Wynyard Station and whether it was an accident waiting to happen, Minns said: “The crowds last Saturday were not good. Mistakes were made; I think we underestimated the number of people who were going there.

“To pay tribute to the organizers they did a big visit the next morning, no one tried to sweep it under the carpet, it was a huge visit with the (NSW) police, emergency services and organizers by Vivid. As a result, there were more road closures.

Minns said that “we are a big city; we should be able to accommodate hundreds of thousands of people, or even nearly 1,000,000 people on our foreshores. We did it for the fireworks.

“Our job is to communicate so people can have fun and get the most out of it. I’m convinced we learned the lessons, even if last Saturday wasn’t great.

with Sarah McPhee