Vivid Sydney hopes drones will fly again next year. But they are hunting for a new operator

There are hopes drones will return to Sydney’s sky – and stay there – at next year’s Vivid festival as the search for an operations manager was launched just a day after more than 80 of the machines sank in Darling Harbour.

The timing is coincidental, the state’s tourism agency says, but shows a desire for drones to return despite a turbulent two years.

Vivid Sydney planned its largest drone show program this year after events were cancelled in 2025 over a potential crowd crush around Circular Quay in 2024.

But the much-anticipated return of the drones was grounded when they began to drop into the water during the 7.30pm show last Monday.

The next day, an opportunity for a “special events operations manager” for Vivid Sydney 2027 appeared on the state government’s procurement portal.

Destination NSW’s request for quotation included criteria for “substantial demonstrated experience in the planning and delivery of large outdoor performances including drone shows” and a requirement for the supplier to have “licensed and accredited drone pilots”.

Another responsibility outlined was to “identify risks and report any incidents or concerns within agreed timeframes”.

A spokesperson for the state’s tourism agency said planning for next year’s Vivid began well before the 2026 festival began, and the publication was “not related to the cancellation of the remaining drone performances”.

Delivering drone shows would be just one of the capabilities sought, on top of other outdoor events such as the Vivid Fire Kitchen, Tumbalong Nights, Laser Lightfall and the Vivid Light Walk, they added.

Applications close on June 9 – days before Vivid wraps up on June 13.

It means prospective tenderers have just 15 days to submit their application before a decision expected in August.

The drone shows were scheduled to take place twice nightly from Sundays to Wednesdays, with up to 1000 drones swarming over Darling Harbour in 22 shows over 11 nights during the weeks-long festival.

The initial incident resulted in shows being scratched on Tuesday and Wednesday before Vivid Sydney officially cancelled all remaining drone shows on Saturday and replaced them with fireworks.

Australian Commercial Marine Group chair Nick Lester said fireworks had placated people who had bought tickets on Vivid harbour cruises, but sales had slowed since the drones were cancelled.

The request for quotation was published as dozens of the battery-powered drones remained in the water. Destination NSW said a “significant number” have been retrieved in a recovery operation which began on Friday.

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