Burning Man 2022: 1000 luminous drones amazed festival-goers with an exceptional show

For 36 years, Burning Man has been a gathering place for art lovers from around the world. After a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, the 2022 edition of the festival featured incredible art installations, including exceptional drone ballet!

Credit: arjenvaneijk / Instagram

Indeed, in the middle of the night, a large-scale light show lit up the sky. The latter is the work of 1000 drones whose movements staged paintings in the form of patterns, objects and faces. The drones were programmed by the DRIFT team from Amsterdam and to create incredible aerial light shows every night while DJs performed. Late in the evening, the inhabitants of Black Rock Cit (the ephemeral city created for the festival), were able to look up and take in the view for long minutes.

This crazy artistic event had festival-goers talking long after the festival was over. And for good reason, it must be said that between a hyperrealistic eye that blinked at gigantic and hypnotic geometric displays through manta rays swimming in slow motion in the sky, there was plenty to be speechless. And that's not all, another image showed a giant mask-like figure peering down at the crowd and spinning around, appearing to survey the festivities.

Credit: arjenvaneijk / Instagram

A participatory drone show

The online community of Burning Man was a source of inspiration for the content of these shows. Convergence Collective, the drone programmers for the opening night show, took to Reddit to ask attendees what they'd like to see their drones do. Comments suggested ideas such as a starry sky, butterfly and flower arrangements, but one request that was echoed by many seems to have been taken up: a tribute to Burning Man co-creator Larry Harvey, who recently deceased.

Credit: arjenvaneijk / Instagram

Credit: arjenvaneijk / Instagram