For three nights this month, you’ll be able to look up at the sky over English Bay in Vancouver, BC, and enjoy the fireworks and drone light shows. Today, new details were announced about Honda Celebration of Light’s first-ever inclusion of drone light shows in the festival’s programming. According to a release, 200 drones will be used in the nightly drone light shows preceding each of the three fireworks shows in July 2024.
As can be expected, the colourful drones will perform in tightly choreographed formations, creating complex geometric shapes and logos in the sky above the waters of English Bay. Each drone light show will begin at about 9:50 pm and end just before the 10 pm sharp start time of the fireworks.
The festival nights are Saturday, July 20 (Portugal’s fireworks), followed by Wednesday, July 24 (Malaysia’s fireworks) and Saturday, July 27 (United Kingdom’s fireworks). The drone light shows are not part of the judged portion of the international fireworks competition.
Winnipeg-based Archangel Fireworks, the pyrotechnics company that organizes the festival’s fireworks component each year, has partnered with North Star Drone Shows for all three drone light shows this year. North Star Drone Shows previously produced events for the NBA Draft Sizzle, LAFC Show, Paris Hilton Show, Candy Crush Show, Super Bowl Instagram Videos, NASCAR, and Caesars Hotel.
“The incorporation of drone technology will bring an exciting new element to the overall program of activities by modernizing the traditional light show, ” said Catherine Runnals, president of BrandLive, the production company behind the Honda Celebration of Light, in a statement. “Drone technology allows us to put a new twist on the event that will be appreciated by every member of the family.”
In addition to the nightly fireworks and drone light shows, the 2024 Honda Celebration of Light will also feature the return of the Red Bull Air Show, which will take to the skies each night at 7:40 pm. Last month’s Concord Pacific Dragon Boat Festival also featured a drone light show, which was Vancouver’s first-ever free public drone light show.
(Source: Daily Hive, Kenneth Chan. Photo/Northern Lights Drone Shows)