Starting Nov. 22, a sprawling drone show will light up Denver skies each night with holiday- and sports-themed animations that can be seen throughout most of downtown.
The 40 nights of free shows will take place at 7 p.m., with special shows on Monday, Dec. 2, prior to the Denver Broncos Monday Night Football game; on Wednesday, Dec. 25, prior to the Denver Nuggets Christmas Day game; and on Tuesday, Dec. 31, before the Colorado Avalanche New Year’s Eve match.
The free shows are massive by any standard, with 400 drones in the air at a height of 400 feet, and a width of 500 feet. They’ll be hovering over the sports fields at Metropolitan State University of Denver — just in case one of them decides to stop working.
They’re inspired partially by the success of the Mile High Tree, the 110-foot tall, 60,000 LED-light behemoth that has proven high-tech holiday offerings are welcome in Denver. The tree, which is being set up in Denver’s Civic Center park, drew more than 230,000 visitors last year, according to Visit Denver.
“It’s become a tradition for so many families and visitors, so we decided to add something else to the mix that kind of has the qualities of the tree,” said Taylor Shields, director of communications for Visit Denver, which is bankrolling the shows.
She declined to say how much they cost.
“A big motivation was to serve our partners, the hotels and restaurants all those places, because convention season is really soft during the holidays,” she said.
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The drone show was also inspired by the success of Civic Center’s annual Independence Eve celebration earlier this year, in which 200 drones replaced fireworks for the public celebration on July 3. Local company Brightflight Drone Shows is again programming and controlling the dozen or so rotating animations.
About a third of all visitors to the Mile High Tree and accompanying Christkindl Market (Nov. 22-Dec. 23 this season) are from out of state, Shields said, so helping downtown businesses out with revenue during the holidays isn’t just a local marketing concern.
The drone shows, however, had a few safety and logistical concerns.
“It was complicated, but MSU has been a great partner to allow us to use some of their athletic fields,” Shields said. “We also had to get air-traffic approval from the Broncos, and adjust our schedules a little bit, because we don’t want to compete with them.”
Visit Denver recommended several spots to watch the 15-minute shows, including:
Sculpture Park at the Denver Performing Arts Complex;
The Ball Arena parking lot (you can also see the show before Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche games);
The 54thirty Rooftop at the Le Méridien Denver Downtown;
Peaks Lounge at Hyatt Regency Denver at Colorado Convention Center; and
The terrace at Denver Art Museum’s Lanny & Sharon Martin Building (open until 8 p.m. Tuesdays).