Between all the summer holidays including Juneteenth, Pride and Independence Day, there’s a good chance you saw some fireworks in America over the past month or two. If you were lucky, you saw a drone show. But if you think the U.S. is the biggest spender on drone shows, think again. The countries that currently spend the most money on drone shows might surprise you.

SPH Engineering, which builds drone show technology and is also behind the annual International Drone Show Competition, just put out a study that sheds light and which countries spend the most money on drone shows — and more specifically what types of groups are actually commissioning them.

Their report, called the “Drone Show Market Analysis,” was made in June 2024 in collaboration with market research group Duamentes Global Alliance based on data from 1,000 drone shows across 62 countries.

They found that, as of summer 2024, the global drone show market is worth $338.99 million — but it’s growing. The U.S. spends big money often, and that’s certainly true in terms of drone shows, with North America making up $84.15 million of the total global drone show figure. Europe follows with $66.19 million of the share, followed by the Asia Pacific region at $15.19 million.

Here’s what % of overall drone shows that each region accounts for:

• North America: 34% of all drone shows (in terms of raw # of performances)
• Europe: 16%
• Asia Pacific region: 12%
• China: 7%

SPH Engineering put that data — and more — together, in a handy infographic (which you can download in full here):

Where do customers spend the most money on drone shows?

In terms of dollar spent per show, the U.S. is far from the highest. In fact, it’s among the lowest.

Instead, the country that spends the most per show is China, where the average drone show costs $114,564. Also in the top three in terms of highest price per show? The Middle East/North Africa region, which spends on average $112,250 per show, and India which spends $91,700 per show.

In Europe, the average drone show costs $42,034. In the Latin America region, the average drone show costs just $25,550. That’s just 22% of what they’re spending over in China.

Why are drone shows so expensive in China?

Why are shows so much more expensive in China, the Middle East and India? In short, they’re larger and grander. In China, an average of 660 drones are used per show. And that’s just an average, suggesting that some drone shows have far more than that. For context, the record for largest drone show happened in Korea, where UVify put on an artistic drone show featuring 5,293 of its IFO drones.

In the U.S., drone shows just aren’t as big. That’s in part because the U.S. has a proliferation of drone show startups — in turn meaning shows that are smaller and more homemade in style. The average drone show in North America uses just 218 drones.

Heck, this drone light show kit can give you what you need to put on your own, personal drone show for just $10,000. In another example, the largest drone show I’ve seen in-person – a Star Wars drone show by Sky Elements — had just 500 drones. Sky Elements says their show prices start at $15,000 for smaller shows.

How drone show cost is determined

In general, the cost of a drone show is tied directly to how many drones are used. Sure, there are some other (relatively) minor costs like permitting, travel to the location, scouting, staff training and drone insurance. But those tend to be mostly fixed costs that see little to no change depending on how many drones are used.

The cost per individual light show drone can easily run between $1,000 and $2,000. Thus, a 660-drone show (that’s the average size of a drone show in China) could easily mean more than $600,000 worth of hardware in the sky, and potentially more than $1.3 million, based on those figures.

The good news? Drones are reusable, so that’s mostly a one-time upfront cost. That’s in contrast to fireworks, which are a one-time use. You really are basically just lighting money on fire with a fireworks show, as you’ll have to spend that money again to get ammo for the next show.

As companies are able to amortize the huge upfront costs, expect drone light shows to become more affordable over time. And already we’re already seeing proof of that. For example, the average cost per drone in a show in China is just $175, according to SPH data. No, that doesn’t mean that Chinese drone show companies are using cheap toy drones that cost that little. It’s just that Chinese drone show companies generally charge about that much to put on a show. So, you can expect an 1,000 drone show in China to cost $175,000.

Meanwhile, budget about $233 per drone, per show in the U.S. So, a massive, 1,000-drone show would cost over $230,000. But, you might only pay just over $20,000 for a smaller show with, say, 100 drones. That aligns with other reporting we’ve done on drone light show costs in the U.S. For example, one of the leaders in drone shows, Sky Elements, says their prices start at about $15,000 for the absolute smallest shows.

How much each region spends on drone shows, compared

Here are those figures rounded up, by region, sorted by average spending per show:

What type of clients spend money on drone shows?

So who is actually spending all that money on drone shows? Turns out, it’s governments — and local and city governments, at that. According to the SPH Engineering study, 18% of all drone show customers are city governments. Commercial businesses are the second largest drone show customer, making up 15% of clients. Rounding out the top 3 is a tie between the sports sector and art festivals, both of which make up 9% of all clients.

They’re also popping up at resorts, theme parks and trade shows, though the trend is hardly new. Today, the free Disney Dreams That Soar drone show at Disney Springs is wowing audiences, but Disney Springs first put on a drone show way back during the 2016 winter holiday season. And in 2018, CES — which is the world’s largest electronics trade show — worked with Intel to put on a drone show at the Bellagio in Vegas.

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