Chaos at Sydney's Vivid festival: Drones rain from the sky as sexualised display at family event sparks fury

Published: 02:30, 26 May 2026 | Updated: 02:44, 26 May 2026 Vivid Sydney has been hit by a double backlash after dozens of drones plunged into Darling Harbour and a separate projection display sparked complaints from attendees who claimed it was inappropriate for a family-friendly event. Monday’s 9.30pm Star-Bound drone show was cancelled after “unforeseen technical difficulties” during the earlier 7.30pm performance caused drones to fall from the sky.  Vivid also faced criticism over a separate projection display at Circular Quay, with some attendees claiming performers in revealing outfits were unsuitable for an event promoted as family-friendly. Lenny Sinclair, a two time Australian Kickboxing Champion, was enjoying the annual event on Monday when he spotted a display of scantily clad dancers at Circular Quay. In the footage, which he shared on social media, a woman in a pink revealing bodysuit dancing could be seen thrusting during a dance. It had been projected on the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia building. 'Multiple men and women half naked are sexualised on this building, while there's family and children around... yuck,' he wrote in the caption.  Some Australians on social media were shocked by the video, saying it was not family-friendly.  A Vivid projection at Circular Quay has sparked backlash, with some attendees questioning whether it was suitable for a family-friendly event Drones appear to fall from the sky during a Vivid Sydney display over Darling Harbour, forcing the major showcase event to be halted 'It's f***ing disgusting that we promote this s*** and in front of children,' a user said. Another added: 'Imagine having to explain this to your kids.'  The criticism comes as Vivid continues dealing with the fallout from the drone malfunction, with shows scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday night cancelled while a technical and safety review is carried out.  'We apologise for the disappointment and inconvenience caused to attendees,' a Vivid Sydney spokesperson said in a statement. 'Public safety is always the number one priority and a full assessment is now underway with the specialist operators and relevant government agencies advising on next steps,' they added. A worker at Darling Harbour told ABC Local Radio there appeared to be a 'cascading failure of the drones'. 'Everything seemed normal and then very shortly after that first image was displayed, on the southern side of Cockle Bay you started seeing drones dropping in the water,' he said. The drone show's operator, Sky Magic, said 89 drones landed in the waters of Cockle Bay. The drone show's operator, Sky Magic, said 89 drones landed in the waters of Cockle Bay 'No vehicle escaped the safety boundary of the show parameters and the reaction of the pilots and crew were timely and appropriate in accordance with our operations manual and processes. 'Some vehicles during the emergency landing phase encountered the geofence boundary and shut down to preserve the safety zone, resulting in them falling into the water,' the company said in a statement. Sky Magic said the incident was caused by an unforeseen change in the radio frequency environment. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.