ELEVATE Sydney, a new festival held 1-5 January, unveiled the largest drone display in the Southern Hemisphere. The ELEVATE SkyShow, lit up Sydney Harbour for the first time with 500 drones, revitalising people’s imagination in a time of uncertainty.

Featuring cutting-edge technology, art and a First Nations narrative, the inaugural ELEVATE SkyShow blended art and technology to create an entirely new form of night-time entertainment. The 500 Intel® drones performed in between the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge to a powerful and moving soundtrack.

AGB Events (agb.events) was commissioned by the NSW Government through tourism organisation Destination NSW to create and produce ELEVATE Sydney (elevatesydney.com). This summer festival was designed to activate Sydney’s CBD and AGB’s SkyShow provided an epic conclusion at the end of every night for thousands lining the Sydney Harbour foreshore.

AGB Events assembled a team of leading creatives to design the show, comprising Anthony Bastic Creative Director, First Nations Advisor Rhoda Roberts AO, Rhyan Clapham (DOBBY) and Senior Producer Olivia Bradley.

Set to an original soundtrack composed by artist DOBBY, the drones danced to powerful orchestral sounds, energetic beats, and indigenous language, bringing First Nations culture to the forefront. The drones served as flying pixels animating an authentic and thrilling narrative of Greater Sydney, paying homage to the ancient wisdom of the Eora People, the unmatched beauty of the Australian flora and fauna and the pure joy of experiencing Summer in Sydney.

To bring the breathtaking vision to life above Sydney Harbour, AGB Events collaborated with Australian drone consulting company Mirragin and world class drone experts from Intel. This has led to the creation of Skyshows, a Brisbane veteran owned and operated Drone Light Show company.