Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) welcomed the new year by breaking the world record for the longest straight-line drones display. The emirate’s eight-minute firework display, which attracted more than 50,000 spectators, incorporated a line of drones that spanned 2km. The festivities combined 1,050 LED drones, floating fireworks and acrobatic pyro […]
Sky Elements performed a Christmas drone show using 1,000 drones above the tallest Christmas tree in America. The original display consisted of a giant Santa, the Nutcracker, an elf flying a drone, and more! The show surprised and shocked the entire city of Enid, Oklahoma, as it was something no one in the town has […]
Fort Worth-based company Sky Elements broke two Guinness World Records with its holiday drone show over the weekend. The displays set records for the largest fictional character and the largest aerial image made with drones. With 1,499 drones, and reaching heights of 700 feet, the drone show Sunday evening launched from Birdville FACC’s football stadium […]
But it’s also the year that drone light shows broke into some of those everyday joys (for example, like Serena Williams’ baby gender reveal party). And it’s the year we saw them in increasingly more theme parks (did you see the Hong Kong Disney Frozen land drone show?), small town July Fourth celebrations and at conferences.
And this year, I had the pleasure of judging the single greatest event in recognizing the best of all those shows: the 4th International Drone Show Competition from SPH Engineering.
Photo courtesy of SPH Engineering
After a year of collecting the best drone shows, countless hours spent among the folks putting them on, and yes — hours of judging all those videos to rewind and replay them all to whittle down the winners — it’s fair to say the best drone light shows of 2023 are official.
This week, SPH Engineering announced the winners, which are a set of 22 of the best drone light shows of 2023.
The 22 best drone light shows of 2023 were chosen from a pool of 105 applicants who come from 24 different countries. Entries were grouped into any of the eight possible categories, which were:
Drone Show Animation (300 drones)
Drone Show at the Event
Drone Show Storytelling
Drone Show as a Marketing Tool
Drone Show for Raising Social Awareness
Drone Show with a Small Fleet
Rising Star Drone Show
Collaborative Drone Show
And with that, here were the winners of SPH Engineering’s Best Drone Shows of 2023 awards:
Best Drone Show Animation of 2023
1st place: Drone Show Japan with animation for the fairy tale “The Bremen Musicians“
That show is pretty extraordinary, merging the fairy tale “The Bremen Musicians” with endangered species. It pays special attention to the use of music, tying each frame of animation closely to the sounds — all the while raising awareness about wildlife conservation.
Watch it here:
Here were the other categories, as well as the top three on the podium in each category:
2nd place: Drone Sky Shows (USA) with Sky Symphony united Drone Sky shows Australia, Japan , China, and Singapore
3rd place: Dutch Drone Shows (Netherlands) with Festival Gijon
Photo courtesy of SPH Engineering
It’s certainly not a coincidence that the top drone shows of 2023 were named through, yes, a drone light show of its own. The results were presented in Las Vegas as part of the Live Design International Trade Show (LDI) at the Las Vegas Convention Center during the LDI 2023 Expo.
Sky Elements Drones (which had plenty of its own podium spots in the competition) put on the drone light show for the awards ceremony, illuminating the Las Vegas sky with 400 drones. This show featured winning-themed icons, including a trophy. As is the trend with many drone shows to arrange drones as QR codes in the sky, this show had a QR code linking to a webpage with the winners.
This is the fourth year of the competition , which began in 2020 as a tiny contest to showcase drone show choreography. Since then, the drone has evolved dramatically with more entries, winners and location representation.
In The Drone Girl’s world, two of my deepest passions collided: Disney and drones. And not just any sort of Disney drones — Frozen drones. (If you’ve met me in person, you’ll likely have seen that I exude big time Anna energy — and coincidentally my sister conveys big time Elsa energy.)
Thus, it was absolutely perfect when Hong Kong Disneyland Resort marked the opening night of its new World of Frozen themed area of the park via a drone show. The drone show was a one-off performance held for the grand opening celebration on Nov. 16 (technically the land opens to the public on Monday, Nov. 20) — and it’s unclear whether drones will return in the future. But the drones that audiences got to watch were absolutely fitting.
For the evening opening ceremony, Anna and Elsa took the stage in a ceremony that featured fireworks and drones. The drones performed as if they were an extension of Queen Elsa’s magical powers, flying over the themed Arendelle land in shapes like snowflakes and icicles, set against a soundtrack inspired by songs from the “Frozen” and “Frozen 2” movies including “Into the Unknown” and “Do You Want To Build A Snowman?” Call it drone ice magic.
You can watch the full show here:
Among the attendees for the Frozen drone light show included Bob Iger, Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company; Josh D’Amaro, Chairman; and Jennifer Lee, Oscar-winning writer/director of “Frozen” and “Frozen 2.”
What to know about Hong Kong Disneyland’s World of Frozen
Photo courtesy of Disney
While there have been touches of Frozen in other Disney theme parks (including a boat ride at Florida’s Epcot theme park) World of Frozen at Hong Kong Disneyland marks the world’s entirely first Frozen-themed land in a theme park.
What’s more, is that this highly-anticipated expansion is the largest in the park’s history. The land features two new attractions: a boat ride similar to the Epcot version called Frozen Ever After, as well as Wandering Oaken’s Sliding Sleighs, which is a roller coaster that winds through the forest, past Oaken’s Trading Post and Olaf’s Snowmen.
In addition to the attractions, World of Frozen also features themed dining and shopping experiences. Guests can enjoy a hearty Norwegian-inspired meal at the Golden Crocus Inn with menu options including braised lamb shank, or grab a sweet snack at Northern Delights, including an ice blue Coronation Sundae and Celebration Cakes decorated with a mini-Olaf.
But as for the drones, that was a one-time show. Any travelers heading to Hong Kong in hopes of a drone show will have to let it go.
And outside its theme parks and resorts, Disney has put on drone shows in other public spaces, such as a 2021 drone show to promote Disney+, featuring a version of Baby Yoda in the sky. Then there are other drone light shows that aren’t explicitly presented by Disney but that have Disney’s endorsement. That includes the Sky Elements Star Wars drone show that I got to see in person, which had approval from Lucasfilm (which is owned by Disney).
Drone light shows are becoming more and more popular — which means so is the market for light show drones.
Not long ago, the ability to put on a drone light show was largely limited to companies with robust hardware building capabilities, like Intel. In fact, technology giant Intel was one of the first major companies to put on drone light shows, thanks to its ability to make its own light show drones called the Intel Shooting Star. The other big player in the early years of drone light shows was Ehang, which has had its hands in all aspects of drone hardware, ranging from the consumer-focused GhostDrone to passenger-carrying drones. Ehang also has put on its own drone light shows, and it long went back and forth with Intel on who held the world record for largest drone light show.
But in 2023, a new world record was set for the largest drone light show. That went to Sky Elements, which on July Fourth weekend put 1,002 drones in the sky for a show which took place over North Richland Hills, Texas. But unlike companies like Intel, Sky Elements doesn’t make its own drones. Sky Elements uses drones from Korean drone maker UVify.
Sure, there are certain companies out there that both make the hardware and put together shows. But these days if you commission a drone light show, it’s more likely you’ll work with an entertainment company like Sky Elements, whose job is to design the animations and execute the show. From there, companies like Sky Elements rely on drones made by companies with expertise in hardware to actually make the LED-carrying drones.
And interestingly, many of the companies that make hardware and put on shows also sell the hardware they make for themselves, opening the door for more small businesses to put on their own drone light shows. By eliminating the proprietary element, it’s becoming easier for entrepreneurs to get into the drone light show industry — which means drone light shows will only become more common.
Luckily, more players are coming into the space, and costs are getting lower and lower. That’s critical in making such shows more mainstream, given that one of the biggest factors in a drone light show cost is simply the capital needed to buy all those light show drones in the first place.
So what are the best light show drones? Here’s a list of the big players you need to know, in alphabetical order:
The Firefly Gen2 drone. Photo courtesy of Firefly
Firefly Drone Systems: Firefly Gen2 drone
Firefly is best known for its Firefly Gen2 drone, which the company sells as part of a turn-key drone show solution.
Designed with drone light shows in mind, it has a heated triple IMU system, which is critical for reliable operations during shows, as well as a bright rgb LED. The drone uses a Gen2 Smart Battery which offers 25 minutes of flight time.
When you purchase a set of Firefly Gen2 drones, you get the hardware itself, as well as a variety of software to execute the shows. That includes a studio app where you can either use Firefly’s pre-designed drone show animations or upload your own, as well as a pilot app so you can easily operate a drone show. You also receive pilot and crew training.
Firefly is based in Detroit, Michigan, which makes it an ideal pick for businesses looking to support other American drone companies.
A design for the planned QC1-D drone. Photo courtesy of ShadowVu
ShadowVu: QC1-D
ShadowVu, which has its roots in the United Kingdom, is a new, lesser-known player in the drone hardware space. It had been making military drones, including the FW1-M and QC1-M.
And in September 2023, the company teased a new product it’s making, the QC1-D, which is designed specifically for drone shows. Because the company is still in the design phase with its light show drones, details are scant. That said, the company says it will incorporate many of the same tech as you’ll already find in its military drones, adding that it will sell =light show drones “at a more reasonable price than its competitors.”
UVify drones are laid out in a grid ahead of a Sky Elements drone show. Photo by Sally French
UVify: IFO drone
UVify is a South Korean drone maker with headquarters in San Francisco, California. The company makes a range of drone types, including the $200 UVify OOri Smart Racing Micro Drone. But for light show entrepreneurs, the UVify product to know is the IFO drone light show drone.
UVify’s best-known client is Sky Elements, which has put on everything from massive, world-record breaking shows to delightful, custom shows for the parties of individual people (albeit rich people), like Serena Williams’ gender reveal party. Sky Elements holds a special place in our hearts for its Star Wars show, which is the first one that Sally French, The Drone Girl, saw in person.
Prices for UVify’s drones can vary, but they currently sell online for about $2,000 each. At that price, the single Star Wars drone show featuring 500 drones would have featured $1 million worth of drones in the sky at one time.
Photo courtesy of
Verge Aero
Verge Aero is another American drone company, this one based in Dallas, Texas.
In October 2023, it debuted a new and improved version of its light show drone called the Verge Aero X7 drone. Among the upgrades from the old model include more compact storage for easier transportation, faster battery charging, longer battery life, more precise GPS capabilities, bolstered wind and rain resistance, and user-friendly enhancements to the integrated control software.
Purchase of the drones also comes with fully-integrated, user-friendly software for drone show design and management. That software consists of three components, which are:
Verge Aero Design Studio: for designing shows
Verge Aero Flight Control Hub: the control center for the flight planning for a user’s fleet
Verge Aero’s Skystream app: delivers branding opportunities for operators and can send synchronized audio to spectators’ devices.
Verge wouldn’t share how much the drones cost, only saying they come at “the most competitive prices on the market.”
“Verge Aero drones are made to purchase as part of a full drone fleet, and can’t be tested or purchased on their own,” company spokesperson Matt Pedretti said.
That said, if you already own previous Verge drones, you won’t have to completely overhaul your old fleet. The new Verge Aero X7 can integrate with any other X1 drone fleets you have.
“Verge Aero’s mission is to make drone shows ubiquitous. With our user-friendly show design and management software, Verge Aero drones give operators a complete end-to-end solution at a price point that can enable mass adoption of this exciting, new technology,” said Nils Thorjussen, CEO of Verge Aero, adding that his goal is to “democratize the drone show industry.”
Preston Ward is the Chief Pilot of Sky Elements Drones, the leading provider of drone light shows around the U.S. His colleague, Rick Boss, recently invited me behind-the-scenes of his company’s Star Wars drone light show at the Oakland Coliseum as part of the team’s Star Wars Night. I got to chat with both of them about what goes into the job — and how they pull off such magnificent drone stunts.
There’s a giant recap post of the event here, including tons of photos. I also put a video on my YouTube channel featuring some of the behind-the-scenes highlights, which you can watch here:
And yes, you can read the Q&A with Rick Boss here, but not before you first read what Preston Ward has to say below. He’s got the coolest job on the planet:
Preston Ward
Drone Girl: I’m here with Preston. He’s the chief pilot for our show tonight. He’s going to tell us more about what’s in his hands. What is this?
Preston Ward: This is one of our light show drones. It’s just like any other drone you might see, except that it’s only got a light. It doesn’t have a camera. The other difference is that it’s got a very sophisticated GPS.
DG: Because it has to be way more accurate than, just, my normal camera drone.
PW: Absolutely. So this will get accurate down to 1 centimeter.
DG: How much does this thing weigh?
PW: This weighs about 2.5 lbs.
DG: So we’re standing in front of a stack of 500 drones right now. Why are they in this stack?
PW: They’re stacked just for ease of transportation. That’s how we move them from place to place. After this, they’ll get laid out in a grid format. That’s because our first frame in the animation for the show tonight is a grid. We’ll match that on the ground so they can fly up into the grid.
DG: So this show has just you as the chief pilot. But, there’s a fairly robust crew here, too. It’s not just you. So what are all these other people doing here to help staff the show?
PW: A lot of the crew is calibrating the drones. Every time we go to a new site, the drone has to be calibrated, so we go through the calibration process just like you would with any drone. Then, they lay out the grid and get it set up. From there, they’ll just wait until the show is done to pick them all up at the end of the night.
DG: Your show tonight is 500 drones, but you’ve done others with 1,000. Is it tougher to do a show with more drones involved because it’s more stuff to set up? Or is it mostly the same with more drones in a show?
PW: More drones simply means more people. Last week we had 1,000 drones so we had a crew of 30. For tonight’s show of 500 drones, we have a crew of 14. It took a lot longer to do the calibration for each one of those.
But actually flying a show, whether it’s 100 or 1,000 drones, it’s actually very similar. We’ve made a lot of improvements network to make it just as efficient to do a show that big.
DG: Okay, so you have pretty much the coolest job title being Chief Pilot. What is a day in your life like?
PW: I do a couple things, including managing our whole pilot core. We have 14 pilots who I’ve trained up to run shows for us. I also do shows like this one, and I’m traveling often for them. For instance, I recently started the day in Dallas, but then I flew out to LA, and then that night went home. I’ll be doing shows all over the country, but it’s a lot of fun. It’s been a wild ride.
DG: When you’re piloting the drone show tonight, what will you be doing?
PW: Once they’re all laid out, I’ll get them ready for the show. That means setting their geofence, updating their locations, giving them their individual flight paths and then looking for any errors or deviations in their headings or anything that could cause an issue.
After that, I set the time to the drones. That’s the big functionality of the software. It synchronizes all the clocks, so they know exactly when that show is supposed to start.
When they’re flying their preprogrammed paths, there are no sensors. They’re just relying on their GPS and their time program.
DG: How are you feeling when you’re operating as the Chief Pilot? Are you stressed? Is it fun?
PW: Initially I used to get stressed, especially for the first couple of shows. I mean, you’re just thinking about the sheer dollar amount with the drones in the air. 1,000 drones means $2.5 million in the sky at once.
But at this point, I’ve done so many of these. Anything that could go wrong, I’ve seen go wrong, so at this point it doesn’t get to me anymore. I’ve learned how to overcome issues, so at this point I just have fun and crack jokes with the crew.
DG: So what could possibly go wrong?
PW: The biggest thing that could go wrong is if they lose that signal from the sophisticated GPS. If that happens, then they’re not relying on the precise GPS. They’re only relying on a more standard GS that you might see in other drones. That translates to the images that the audience sees not being as precise.
DG: So the drones fly over this giant parking lot and they just stay here, right? They don’t actually fly over the stadium?
PW: Correct. They’re going to be over this big area that we have sectioned off and restricted, per FAA requirements.
DG: And speaking of the FAA, we are pretty close to Oakland International Airport. Tell me, what went on to get approvals to fly in restricted airspace?
PW: We did have to get authorization to fly drones here. Normally drones can’t fly here at all. We’ve worked closely with the MLB and the FAA to even get drones approved at all for shows like this, getting approval to use drones in post game activity.
DG: You’ve done so many drone shows. Which is your favorite?
PW: Mine was one we did a couple weeks ago with 1,002 drones. It set a Guiness World Record, and incorporated fireworks too.
And you can watch a virtual version of that record-breaking drone show right here:
Rick Boss is the leader of Sky Elements Drones, the leading provider of drone light shows around the U.S. He recently invited me behind-the-scenes of his company’s Star Wars drone light show at the Oakland Coliseum as part of the team’s Star Wars Night.
I’ve got a big recap of the event here, including tons of photos, which you can read and view here. There’s also a video on my YouTube channel featuring some of the highlights, right below:
But while that video has a few snippets of our Q&A, it doesn’t include all of it. Thus, I’ve decided to share our full Q&A in text form. In our behind-the-scenes interview, he shares how they manage to travel with all those drones, what the setup entails and more. So without further adieu, here’s that interview with Rick Boss!
Rick Boss of Sky Elements Drones
Drone Girl: What are we looking at behind us?
Rick Boss: Tonight we’re looking at 500 drones for a show that’s going to be Star Wars themed. What’s going on right now is the crew is setting up all the drones, calibrating the drones, and making sure we’re ready to go for tonight.
DG: And there’s actually a pretty decently sized crew. How many people do you have putting on this whole endeavor?
RB: Typically for a show the size we have about 15 to 18 people to get all the drones set up, but just one person flying the show.
DG: So these folks have been doing a lot of work calibrating the drones. Tell me, what all goes into the setup ahead of time?
RB: A lot of the work, well, most of the work, happens beforehand. So our creative team has spent probably about a hundred and fifty hours of programming just for this show. So much work goes on ahead of the show, and tonight it’s just setting up the drones to make sure everything works well today.
DG: As far as programming, what are we going to see?
RB: You’re going to see a lot of Star Wars.
DG: Do you think we’ll see Baby Yoda?
RB: There’s a good chance that Grogu is up there.
DG: Yes! Amazing! And so you do a bunch of these shows. Just before this you were at the Dodger’s Game. I hear you also did the Serena Williams baby gender reveal show.
RB: We did. We did the Serena Williams baby gender. We also did the Dodger’s show, which was 1,000 drones. For context, we’re doing 500 tonight. We have another Star Wars show coming up for FC Dallas with 1,000 drones.
DG: Oh my gosh, so you’re busy! How many shows are you doing each month or each week?
RB: We fly 5-6 shows every week, all over the country. So yes, we’re pretty busy. From Key West to Seattle, Washington to the Caribbean as well as Hawaii. We’re everywhere.
DG: So do you have a truck? How do you get drones to all these places?
RB: So right behind me is a truck trailer there. The trailer is the most common way we transport our drones. The primary reason for that is because of all those lithium batteries. It is otherwise just a pain to fly twitch them all over the country.
DG: Flying with drones — and perhaps more critically, flying with LiPo batteries — is complicated, so I’m not surprised to hear you say that.
RB: It’s especially tough when your shows are big.
DG: So on that note, how does the size of this show compare to most drone light shows?
RB: This is a medium-to-large show. Our average drone is about 300 drones. With 500 drones, that’s a nice sized show.
DG: How do I get my own personal drone light show, like what Serena got?
RB: *Laughs* You can call us, or visit our website at SkyElementsDrones.com, hit the request button and we’ll get you a quote.
DG: And I probably need to win the lottery to get some money to do that?
RB: The cost of a drone show is expensive still. It’s more than fireworks, that’s for sure. That said, the prices are always getting better. I mean, the price right now is half what it was a year and a half ago.
DG: It’s becoming more affordable, and it’s also more environmentally friendly — which I do like that aspect as well.
RB: No doubt about it. Particularly in some states where there is fire danger, that is a great benefit. There’s the fact that these are low noise. We’re not impacting the neighbors, we’re not impacting the pets, and it’s certainly we’re leaving no debris behind.
DG: And, we get far more custom, exact designs. I’m personally excited to see Baby Grogu tonight.
And just like that, you can watch their timelapsed version of the show right here:
You met Rick Boss, but one of the other geniuses powering Sky Elements is Preston Ward, who serves as the company’s chief pilot. Come back to The Drone Girl next week to read a similar Q&A, but with Preston!
Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) welcomed the new year by breaking the world record for the longest straight-line drones display. The emirate’s eight-minute firework display, which attracted more than 50,000 spectators, incorporated a line of drones that spanned 2km. The festivities combined 1,050 LED drones, floating fireworks and acrobatic pyro […]
