Eighty-nine drones crashed into the water of Sydney's Darling Harbour during the Star-Bound drone light show on the evening of 25 May 2026, organizers confirmed. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6] The incident occurred over Cockle Bay as part of Vivid Sydney, an annual three-week winter festival known for light installations and events. [1, 5]
Skymagic, a UK-based company responsible for the Star-Bound display, said the crashes resulted from an unforeseen change in the surrounding radio frequency environment after take-off. The change triggered failsafe landing procedures in some drones, causing them to descend into the designated safety exclusion zone in Darling Harbour. [1, 3, 4, 6] A Skymagic spokesperson explained, "...some drones enacted failsafe landing procedures in response to compromised positional accuracy." [1]
No injuries were reported, and all drones fell within the exclusion zone designed to protect the public from such malfunctions, Destination NSW CEO Karen Jones said. "It did mean that if there was a technical failure – which there was last night – it meant that the drones either fell into the water or within that exclusion zone," she added. [3]
A bystander near the crash site described loud crashing noises from the drones striking the wharf just 10 to 20 meters away. "The sound of them crashing on the wharf was considerable... you could hear them physically crash and smash onto the cement marina," said Darling Harbour worker Robert. [1]
The Star-Bound show typically features up to 1,000 drones performing a 12-minute aerial display during Vivid Sydney, which debuted the drone show in 2024 but cancelled it in 2025 over overcrowding concerns. [1, 6]
In response to the crashes, Vivid Sydney organizers cancelled multiple drone shows scheduled for 26 and 27 May 2026 as a precaution to conduct safety reviews. A spokesperson said the cancellations were "in line with standard safety protocols" and apologized for the inconvenience caused to attendees. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
Vivid Sydney continues through early June, with 22 drone shows originally planned across 11 nights. [1, 6]
