A prime drone attraction has been pulled from the opening night program just days out from the Adelaide Fringe Festival.
The $350,000 taxpayer Sky Song drone light show will no longer be happening on Friday night at the opening of the festival after organisers failed to gain the appropriate permissions to fly over Adelaide.
Australia’s aviation regulator the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) declared drones wouldn’t be able to fly at the showgrounds given its close proximity to Adelaide Airport.
The drone show has now been postponed two weeks and is being moved to McLaren Vale, around 40 minutes out from Wayville – the location of the Fringe.
“They got their CASA accreditation and they just had to get site-specific approval which didn’t happen in Wayville,” Fringe CEO Heather Croall said.
Organisers say suddenly changing the iconic drone display has left some ticketholders frustrated.
“It’s a shame and a surprise,” Ms Croall said.
But businesses in the McLaren Vale area are welcoming the change.
“Once we had time to talk it over, we realised what an amazing experience this could be and fantastic opportunity it,” Jette Hamilton from Leconfield & Richard Hamilton Wines said.
The drone show will happen over two weekends in March, with three times the original capacity expected each night.
“Moving down here is being able to fly the drones to the height we need and the number of drones and flying, the swarm will have 300 drones flying,” Ms Croall said.
The new McLaren Vale location still requires the correct approvals.
But organisers say they’re confident it will get approval from the regulator in the next couple of days.
“I think the experience we’ll offer audiences is better and, in fact, it’s more stunning,” Ms Croall said.
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Refunds are available for those who can no longer attend the drone show because of the change in time and location.