Stellar Performance

Hundreds of drone shows took place across the country during the National Day holidays running from September 29 to October 6, 2023. In Shenzhen, a city dubbed China’s Silicon Valley and a major global center for drone production, there were more than 200 drone performances in 2023. 　

While drone shows have become common in China’s big cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou, they are becoming much more popular in smaller cities, and this has fueled the rapid growth of the drone show industry. 　

Efy Technology, a Tianjin-based drone manufacturer, presented over 100 drone performances in over 30 cities across 20 provinces and municipalities during the National Day holiday. 　

Qi Juntong, founder of Efy Technology, told NewsChina there is rising enthusiasm for drone shows among local governments and enterprises. 　

“We sent a drone show team to Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in September to present a show booked by a local government, and it was very successful,” Qi said. 　

Other drone display companies are flying high on the heated market. “From the Labor Day holiday until now, we’ve done performances every day. We don’t have enough capacity to meet the demand,” said Qin Haiqun, deputy-general manager of Shenzhen Damoda, one of the market leaders in China. 　

Qin said their shows have to be booked at least one month in advance. “All our operations and technical support staff are out on assignment,” he said, pointing to the empty desks in the company’s office. 　

The 2017 Super Bowl half-time show in Houston, Texas pushed drone performances into the mainstream, when hundreds of Intel’s Shooting Star drones formed a glittering backdrop for singer Lady Gaga. Then in 2018, a drone performance made a global sensation when Intel used 1,218 illuminated drones to create the Olympic rings and other images during the opening ceremony of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in South Korea on February 9, 2018. 　

China’s first outdoor drone performance was in 2016 at an event hosted by the State-run China Central Television (CCTV). Although quite a few drone startups had emerged by that time, they were all focused on the consumer market to become the next DJI, the Shenzhen-based drone company that accounts for a significant proportion of global consumer drone sales. They did not appreciate at first how lucrative the drone show business would become. 　

“CCTV approached almost all the drone companies in Shenzhen, and Damoda was the first to dare take a chance with the booking,” said Qin Haiqun, vice general manager of Damoda, a Shenzhen-based drone manufacture and one of the market leaders in China. 　

Qin said that Damoda was established in 2015 and had only developed a drone control system and a prototype drone model. Its products were not yet for general sale. But the air show involving 80 drones was an immediate hit, and Damoda was soon flooded with drone show bookings. 　

Many other drone startups soon joined the fray. According to the Shenzhen UAV Industry Association, China’s drone show market is currently dominated by four major companies, Damoda, HighGreat, Efy Technology and EHang, which have a combined domestic market share of 90 percent. 　

At a drone show in May 2021, Shenzhen HighGreat set four Guinness World Records: the highest number of drones flying simultaneously with 5,164, the largest light image composed by 5,184 drones, the longest animation show performed by drones (26 minutes and 26 seconds), and the most different consecutive formations by a single fleet at 88 maneuvers. 　

“From a technical perspective, controlling tens of thousands of drones for a performance is not a problem at all, though it exceeds current market demand,” Li Chenliang, chief innovation officer of HighGreat, a Shenzhen-based drone manufacturer, told NewsChina. “Setting records for the sake of it has become less and less meaningful.” 　

But China has emerged as a global drone show market leader. “Overseas companies pioneered drone performances, but they didn’t swiftly develop it into a separate niche market,” Li said. Intel, for example, primarily utilized drone performances to promote its corporate image and technological capabilities rather than expanding into the drone show market. 　

By comparison, since making their maiden flights in China in 2016, drone shows quickly developed into a significant market. According to a 2022 report released by the Tourism Data Innovation Alliance (TDIA), a tourism data provider, 7,228 outdoor drone shows were presented in 2021 throughout China. 　

Another report released by market research publisher QYResearch in August 2022 showed that the value of the drone show market in China reached US$104 million in 2021, accounting for 60.8 percent of the global market, which was valued at US$170 million. The report estimated that the global market will expand to US$719 million in 2029, with the Chinese market projected to account for 65 percent of the global total. 　

“Chinese companies lead in both the quality of drone performances and market share,” Yang Jincai, chairman of the World UAV Conference and founding president of the Shenzhen UAV Industry Association, told NewsChina, “Chinese companies are now highly sought after by organizers of overseas festivals and exhibitions given their technological capability and competitive pricing.” 　

Compared to fireworks, drone shows have several advantages. “While fireworks can create a jubilant atmosphere, drone shows are customizable and can present more specific information,” Yang said, “They are safer and more environmentally friendly, and with their high-tech touch, are a next-generation communication platform.” This is because drone shows can be a platform for all kinds of communication-related projects like advertising and campaigning, as it can deliver specific messages, unlike firework and light shows. 　

It is no coincidence that the rise of drone shows came after tightened regulatory control of fireworks displays. After the central government issued a safety regulation on fireworks and firecrackers in 2016, more than 1,100 cities across China imposed restrictions on firework displays, with more than 400 cities banning fireworks altogether. It upped safety rules over the whole production, transportation and use of fireworks, put in place punishments for violations, and required more costly and comprehensive permits and documentation. It deterred many local authorities from putting on displays. 　

In the meantime, urban illumination projects, including light shows, were also put on hold. As the finances of local governments started to decline in the late 2010s, the once popular-light shows were increasingly considered “vanity projects” and a waste of taxpayer money. 　

In 2019, several senior officials from Wanquan County, Hebei Province, then a nationally recognized impoverished county, were removed from their posts after its government spent 40 million yuan (US$5.5m) on a large performance involving light shows, laser projections and musical fountains. The scandal prompted the central government to issue a decree to curb “excessive landscape lighting projects.” 　

Following a failed drone performance in Xi’an, capital of Shaanxi Province in April 2018, when many of the 1,374 drones involved either flew out of sync or fell from the sky, it was found that the show was booked by the local government and cost 10.5 million yuan (US$1.4m). It immediately led to public outcry. 　

However, according to Yang Jincai, as fierce competition has substantially driven down the price of drone shows in the past couple of years, they are unlikely to become a major financial burden for local governments. “Currently, a drone show involving about 1,000 drones costs about 800,000 yuan (US$109,600), which is less than a tenth of what it was,’ Yang said. 　

Announcements released by the government of Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province, show that the winning bid for a promotional drone show in Guangzhou this year was only 123,500 yuan (US$16,917). 　

According to Ye Qing, a professor from Zhongnan University of Economics and Law in Wuhan, Hubei Province, as control over the budget management of local governments continues to tighten, lavish spending on public events has become history. 　

In the meantime, there is growing demand from corporate users. Qi Juntong from HighGreat told NewsChina that orders from corporate customers now account for 60 percent of the company’s drone show business. “The share of government bookings is slowly dropping,” Qi said. He added that unlike government orders, which usually follow a fixed schedule, demand from corporate customers tends to fluctuate. “Right now, we are witnessing soaring demand that exceeds what the market can supply,” Qi said. 　

The future of drone shows lies far beyond replacing fireworks in public events and celebrations. With the ability to create captivating and customized aerial displays, drone shows can carry ads. According to an estimate by Efy Technology, 85 percent of drone show spectators film the show, and more than 60 percent post it on social media, making it a powerful advertising platform. 　

According to the TDIA report, 36 percent of drone shows purchased in China in 2021 were by tourism projects and attractions. Other major clients are real estate developers and automakers. 

Li Chenliang said he once received an order from a real estate developer who was not looking for intricately choreographed aerials. “All they wanted was to show a static advertisement in the sky, and it was a big success,” Li said. 　

For Yang Jincai, drone shows have great potential to expand into other industries once they catch on to the advertising and communication power. “They can integrate with all kinds of industries with the promise of substantial new growth and consumption trends,” Yang said.