The NSW Premier has spoken out about the cancellation of the final night Vivid Festival drone show, leaving thousands stranded in the rain after hours of waiting.
Chris Minns apologized to everyone queuing for the show at Sydney’s Circular Quay, which was canceled at the last minute on Saturday evening due to ‘expected weather conditions’.
Festival organizers announced that the Love is in the Air drone show would not take place 20 minutes before its scheduled start time of 9.10pm.
Mr Minns said the decision to host the popular event was necessary to ensure the safety of everyone involved.
“I’m really sorry about last night. “Many families and children were really looking forward to last night,” he told reporters on Sunday.
Thousands of people were left disappointed on the final night of Sydney’s Vivid Festival after the Love is in the Air drone show was canceled 20 minutes before it was due to start on Saturday
NSW Premier Chris Minns apologized for the last-minute decision not to go ahead with the show, but added it was necessary to ensure the safety of everyone involved
‘It is very unfortunate and I am truly sorry. The decision was made by the drone operator and was completely weather dependent.”
The Prime Minister said the drone operator waited until the last minute “not to harass families, but to actually see if they could continue with the program.”
‘I know families are having a really tough time at the moment and the free entertainment that is coming about as a result of Vivid and the drone show is welcome because it means you can take your children and family with you, and it costs nothing to see it but, he said.
“I’m really sorry about last night. Many families and children were really looking forward to last night.’
Mr Minns concluded his apology by promising to host more free events in Sydney over the next 12 months.
“This one fell through, but there will be many more opportunities in the coming months and years,” he said.
The drone show was intended to be the final highlight of the festival and would have capped off the final night of the three-week event.
Only three drone shows were scheduled during the three-week festival
Poor weather conditions were cited by the drone operator as the main reason for the cancellation. The photo shows crowds of people braving the cold conditions before the show was called off
People were queuing along the harbor and the Opera House at Circular Quay in the hours leading up to the start time before it was cancelled.
It was one of three drone shows that would take place during Vivid.
Organizers posted updates on Saturday evening at 8.43pm on X and 8.52pm on Facebook, telling the crowd to disperse as the show could not go ahead.
“The show will not be rescheduled as tonight marks the conclusion of Vivid Sydney 2024. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your understanding. Please be patient when exiting,” the message read.
Postponing the drone show was also not an option because the port was closed and had to be reopened.
Visitors had previously been warned in an earlier update that the show was ‘highly sensitive and dependent on weather conditions to go ahead’.
The forecast rainfall may have caused some drones to malfunction, organizers said
Still, those who arrived to watch the preliminary performance were left embittered by the abruptness of Saturday night’s announcement.
One woman expressed her frustrations online that the show should have been stopped hours earlier instead of leaving everyone on the hook.
Another commented that the weather was “so bad” and that they assumed it wouldn’t interfere with the drones.
The Australian Traffic Network was in charge of the drone show.
CEO Vic Lorusso said a number of factors made the execution of the event impossible.
“The decision was informed by pilot experience, forecast rainfall and continued monitoring from the Bureau of Meteorology for 2.5 hours before the planned launch,” he said in a statement.
‘The risk of launching drones under such circumstances was too great. Flying in poor weather conditions can lead to drone malfunctions or collisions, posing significant safety risks to the public.”
Vivid officially shut down at 11pm after running since May 24th.