Drone shows in Doha and Qatar
A thousand drones opening the equestrian season
A show of 1,000 drones flew at the opening ceremony of HH The Father Amir’s Prix at Al Shaqab in Doha, the event that opens the international equestrian season. More than 240 riders from around the world took part in the tour, and the show worked above the Longines Arena as part of the ceremony.
The opening of the Doha Equestrian Tour is one of those moments where sport, ritual and spectacle meet. With a strong competitive field and a carefully composed ceremony, the show moved within that rhythm, extending the light and motion of the scene into the space above the arena.
Phoenixes at the FIFA Arab Cup opening
Our glowing phoenixes flew at the opening ceremony of the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2025 at Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor. The ceremony was produced by Katara Studios.
The 11th edition of the tournament opened on 1 December 2025 with 16 national teams taking part, and the final was played on 18 December at Lusail Stadium. The opening match was held in front of a full house of about 70,000 spectators and was attended by His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Amir of the State of Qatar. The ceremony itself ran for about fifteen minutes and was built as a three-chapter narrative.
This was not a drone show. The phoenixes are radio-controlled flying figures, and in a ceremony like that they do a different job: not drawing a picture in the sky, but moving as an object among people and set pieces.
What else we have done in Doha
At the qualifier between Qatar and China for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027, radio-controlled basketballs rose above the court at the opening ceremony.
At the ICAO Gala Dinner during FALC 2025, a custom-built remote-controlled aircraft flew above the guests. The conference marked the 80th anniversary of the International Civil Aviation Organization.
For a Qatar Tourism campaign we built radio-controlled airships shaped like whale sharks and flew them in Doha. The campaign referred to a real event: every summer hundreds of whale sharks gather in the waters off the Qatari coast.
And for the Qatar Toy Festival at the Doha Exhibition & Convention Center we created a giant blue teddy bear that flew through the exhibition halls above the visitors until 4 August 2025.
How a permit is obtained in Qatar
In the Gulf countries the applicant is almost always a local legal entity. A foreign operator cannot file directly: a company registered in the country is required, with the foreign team working under contract with the local party.
The regulator in Qatar is the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority. As a guide, three to four weeks from the filing of the full package, the shortest timescale in the region: in Saudi Arabia it is four to six weeks for a standard operation and eight to 10 for a state event, in Kuwait and Oman four to six.
The regulator looks at the legal status of the operator, the registration of the drones, the registration and qualification of the pilots, exact coordinates and a map of the flight zone, altitude and the time window, the risk assessment, the perimeter plan, liability insurance and the plan of action if something fails or the weather deteriorates. One unconsidered item is enough to stop the route.
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.
The launch area is fenced off, and around the drones set out on the ground we keep a buffer of some 50 metres. There are no people where the drones take off, transit, perform or land. Public liability is insured for two million US dollars, and the cover is worldwide. Our pilots are licensed and the equipment is backed up.
Our shows in the neighbouring countries
In the UAE we staged a show at the Dubai Frame for Emirates NBD and Mastercard, 1,000 drones above the golf club at the IBA World Boxing Championships and 1,000 drones opening the Festival of Health in Abu Dhabi. More on our pages about drone shows in Dubai and in Abu Dhabi.
In Riyadh we have worked indoors: the opening of CONEXÃO, the Smart Grid Conference, a medical conference and a bank evening.
How approvals work across the region is set out in permits in the GCC countries. 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.
