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Vivid Sydney festival’s drone light show may return this year after being cancelled in 2025 due to safety concerns.
Up to 1,000 drones could be used for the 2026 show, proposed to run over 14 nights at Darling Harbour, as opposed to its former location near Circular Quay. The show was axed last year following dangerously large crowds in 2024.
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In a request for tender launched late last year, the NSW government indicated that the drone shows would run up to twice per night for 14 nights during Vivid, which is set for 22 May to 13 June 2026.
“Over the 23 nights, the Event commences with ‘Lights On’ at 18:00 hours and concludes with ‘Lights Off’ at 23:00 hours,” the government said.
“The supplier will be responsible to plan, deliver and manage professional drone shows for Vivid Sydney 2026.
“The supplier must provide all personnel, equipment, systems, and logistical support necessary to deliver safe, compliant and high-quality performances.”
Shows would be 8-12 minutes long, likely running Friday to Monday inclusive or Thursday to Sunday inclusive, according to the tender request.
Paul Nicolaou from Business Sydney told 9 News that he welcomed the show’s potential return.
“I think the government will work with relevant agencies, police and security, to make sure it goes off well if they go down this path,” he said.
“You need to always look at these types of events and do what you can to improve them and make them more exciting every year. There’s a new festival director who will bring in some new ideas.
“It is a tourism engine for our city, and we really need to ensure that our Vivid is fantastic.”
NSW tourism body Destination NSW had scrapped the show for 2025’s Vivid festival, citing chaotic scenes in 2024 where huge attendance almost caused a crowd crush around the Circular Quay area.
“The changes required to mitigate the safety risk at Vivid Sydney 2025 created a significant increase in cost,” the agency said at the time.
“In the broader context of rising costs for staging events, Destination NSW has decided this is not the best allocation of resources.”
The request for tender closes on 21 January, with a decision to be made by 27 February.
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