Expat shares surprise of seeing drones taking over Dubai skies

  DUBAI - We were at home, when the thought of taking a walk from our apartment across the Dubai Marina to The Beach in JBR. Little did I know about the Dubai Shopping Festival Drone Light Show as we headed out under the chilly, winter night.

Here's a quick look at the drone show: :

As we got closer to the waterfront, we weren’t surprised to see that it was packed with families, tourists, and kids having a fun time by the restaurants, ice cream shops, and play areas. A section of The Beach was cordoned off and we could see a little camp set up at a distance, close to the waters. We picked a corner with a fantastic view of the skies against the giant Ain Dubai wheel with the spectacular Palm in the backdrop. As we stood waiting, the soft sand felt cold beneath my feet. I turned sideways to see a cute little kid, no older than 2 to be sure, bending down to scoop up the sand in her little palms. She seemed captivated by the fine grains. Just then, a loud, booming voice announced that the Drone Light Show was about to start. It got me excited, as more people began to huddle around the barricade, whipping their phones out, eager to not miss a moment. There was a curved half-moon in the sky with a bright star not far from it. Ain Dubai shone brighter, with the new wagon lights surrounding its massive curves. Just then, the voice boomed, loudly counting down from 10..9..8..7..6..5..4..3..2..and 1! A beautiful melody began playing and what sounded like a thousand buzzing bees floated from the campsite. An array of bright blue stars rose row after row until there were hundreds of drones hovering up in the expanse before us. I was mesmerised at their beauty and everyone there was, too. Before I could wonder if the drones would dance, the hovering lights moved away higher above the waters, crashing along the shoreline. People were lined up on the bridge connecting the Bluewaters island, staring transfixed as the lights assembled in formation. One by one, the bright blue lights disappeared like fireflies until just a single drone shone bright. And then it was gone, leaving behind nothing but darkness. Suddenly, a beautiful Arabic song began playing and a giant red Dubai Shopping Festival logo lit up the night sky and I was absolutely spellbound at the stunning 3D show of lights and colours. It was unbelievable that flying drones were performing this act. They were moving together in sync as if powered by some invisible force and together they danced and reformed, taking the shape of several important Dubai landmarks like the Burj Khalifa, the Burj Al Arab, the revolving Ain Dubai, The Museum of the Future, the HOPE Mars mission, a giant Three Fingered Salute, and much more. The performance lasted for 10 minutes and ended with the drones falling in line once again, returning in formation back to base, bright blue stars fading down to nothingness. The music stopped and suddenly there was a scramble of feet as the watchers beside me dispersed. Reeling from that spellbinding show; my eyes fell upon the little kid playing in the sand beside me. Turns out, she hadn’t looked up once, and was oblivious to the drama unfolding up in the sky, too absorbed in the magic of the cold, soft sand trickling between her precious, gentle hands. Don’t miss it What: DSF Drone Light Show Where: Bluewaters Island and The Beach When: Daily throughout DSF, at 7pm and 9:30pm Anju Nambiar is Expat Media’s contributing writer based in Dubai
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