For the first time in its 66-year history, the Eurovision Song Contest is being hosted by two countries. Last year's winner Ukraine is currently at war and unable to physically host the event, so the United Kingdom, 2022's first runner up, is hosting the competition in Liverpool's M&S Arena.
The opening ceremonies, which took place on May 7 at St. George's Hall, Liverpool, and included a record-breaking drone show featuring 624 drones flown by Celestial. The fleet consisted of quadcopters, each weighing 1.2kg with a flight time of 20 minutes each and a 900 lumen LED module. All the drones were charged at Celestial HQ using renewable energy sources.
The display was the largest single-location drone show in the UK, the same weekend as the largest multiple-location drone show in the UK created to celebrate the Coronation of King Charles III.
The display consisted of two, 4-minute shows featuring a 100-foot wide White Stork, Ukraine’s national bird and Liverpool’s mythical creature, the Liver Bird.
John Hopkins, founder & CCO of Celestial, said, “Our drone show for Eurovision celebrates Liverpool, music and of course Ukraine, the previous winners of the contest. Designing this show was a fantastic opportunity to bring unique expressions of harmony and togetherness over the skies of this incredible city. It is exactly what Celestial is all about; uniting people with a shared sense of wonder.” In January, Celestial won the Best Drone Show Storytelling category at the 3rd International Drone Show Competition for its feature-length drone art show, Sky Song.
Drone Show Technology from Riga, Latvia-based SPH Engineering was used to create the complex 3D animations and synchronize the lights. Alex Levandovskiy, head of Drone Show Technology at SPH commented, "We are proud to have contributed to such a spectacular event, and it is an honor to be part of the National Lottery's Big Eurovision Welcome. The show perfectly demonstrated how drones can be used to create stunning visual displays that entertain and inspire people from all walks of life"