Outdoor drone shows in Abu Dhabi

A thousand drones opening the Festival of Health

The Festival of Health was held in Abu Dhabi for the first time in 2025. The organisers, the Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre together with the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi, spread the programme across three regions of the emirate: from 12 to 16 December on Al Hudayriyat Island, from 19 to 21 December at Madinat Zayed Public Park in Al Dhafra, and from 26 to 28 December at Al Jahili Park in Al Ain. More than 140 activities and over 30,000 visitors were expected.

Our 1,000 drones worked on the opening night, at the start of the programme.

Launching beside the airport grounds

Our second project in the emirate is an unusual one. We closed Oriflame’s international conference with a show launched right above the airport grounds: a rare occasion when the sky is closed just to be opened for light.

A site like that changes the whole calculation. Near an airport the flight parameters are tighter: altitude, time and the boundaries of the zone. The approval may call for additional conditions, and the zone has to be assessed from the coordinates and the site plan rather than from the name of the venue.

A third project, in December of the same year: a drone show for the ceremonial launch of a technology company at Met Dhabi. The flight programme was built as an extension of the product idea, with elements of the brand identity worked into the sequences.

Local procedures in Abu Dhabi

The system in the UAE has two layers. The federal layer sets the basic requirements for unmanned operations, for the registration of drones, for pilot approvals and for insurance. The emirate adds its own procedures.

In Abu Dhabi the local layer of safety assessment and of operator approval for working in the emirate is more pronounced. That adds steps on safety and requires the operator to confirm in advance that it meets local expectations.

The same show format in different emirates may call for a different set of local steps, even when the federal part is identical. Which is why the emirate and the exact location are settled before the chain begins.

Where a project starts

Not with the script, but with the site. The order is: choose the emirate and the exact location, obtain the NOC from the site, then start the ground approvals and the aviation part, closing the local procedures of the emirate in parallel.

The site’s NOC has to record the exact place and coordinates, the date and the time window, and the right to use a particular take-off point and place equipment. If the project includes tests and a rehearsal, their windows are best written into the same letter from the outset.

A flight permit is mandatory, and the application states the altitude the show will run at. If it is not stated, the default is 120 metres. For an animation of more than 400 drones that is usually too low, particularly if the design has vertical figures. The altitude cannot be added on site on the day of the show.

Parameters

Our fleet covers shows of up to 9,000 drones, and a programme can run up to 25 minutes. The drones operate in winds up to 12 m/s, in light rain and in temperatures from –10 °C to +50 °C. As a guide, an outdoor show costs about $100–200 (AED 370–730) per drone, excluding 5 per cent VAT in the UAE.

The launch and technical areas are fenced off physically. Around the drones set out on the ground we keep a buffer of some 50 metres, and there are no people where the drones take off, transit, perform or land.

We obtain the permits, not the client. In the UAE we have our own legal entity, the fleet is registered in the country and the pilots hold local approvals. Public liability is insured for two million US dollars, and the cover is worldwide.

Our shows nearby

In Abu Dhabi we have also worked indoors: 80 drones flew at a show jumping tournament at the Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club, in an arena with people and horses close by.

In Dubai we staged a show at the Dubai Frame for Emirates NBD and Mastercard, and 1,000 drones above the golf club at the IBA World Boxing Championships; more about the city on our page about outdoor drone shows in Dubai. In Sharjah we opened the 15th Sharjah Light Festival.

How approvals work in the country is set out in outdoor drone shows in the UAE. Our services: outdoor drone shows, indoor drone shows, radio-controlled airships and custom flying objects.

Where to start

Tell us where and when the event takes place and what it marks: an anniversary, an opening, a national date, a product launch. The occasion shapes the script and the size of the programme, while the site and the date shape how long the approvals take. That is enough for us to come back with a timeline and a price.