Show featuring drones to replace New Year firework display in Bruges
While many other town, cities and villages across the country will be seeing in the New Year with a bang, the West Flemish city of Bruges has ditch its traditional New Year’s Eve fireworks display. The city authorities in “The Venice of the North have opted instead for a show featuring drones, the first of its kind to be put on in Belgium. The City of Bruges wasn’t given the all clear to put on the show by the General Directorate of Aviation until last week.
The drones will produce the same spectacular effect as fireworks, but without the loud bangs that cause so much anguish to babies, pets and livestock.
Three years of preparatory work
The city authorities opted for a drone show that is to put on by AndLights, a company owned by the Verschore brothers from Bruges. The show has three years in the making. Around100 drones will take part in the show. They will take off from ’T Zand in the historic centre of the West Flemish city. Each of the drones has a small light on its undercarriage.
Safety assured
The Mayor of Bruges Dirk De fauw (Christian democrat) told VRT Radio 2 West Flanders that every effort has been taken to ensure that the show passes safely. In order to be able to fly drones wind speeds may not exceed slight.
This shouldn’t be too much of a problem today as the weather forecast is favourable. The drones will fly over an area that has been sealed off near het he city’s concert building. This should ensure that no one would be injured if anything went wrong with one of the drones.