What was meant to be a dazzling celebration turned into a technical nightmare over the skies of Ho Chi Minh City. On April 30, 2025, a drone light show by Chinese tech company DAMODA, intended to break the Guinness World Record for the largest drone display, ended abruptly after hundreds of drones malfunctioned and began falling from the sky.
Celebrating Liberation Of The South and National Reunifications
The event was part of the city’s grand celebration marking the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification. More than 10,000 drones were programmed to create breathtaking formations of iconic Vietnamese symbols—ranging from the Ben Thanh Market and Notre Dame Cathedral to portraits of Ho Chi Minh and national slogans. Organized by the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Culture and Sports and sponsored by VNPay, the show was highly anticipated and attracted thousands of spectators.
Spectacle before Disaster
But just minutes into the performance, technical glitches struck. Dozens of drones lost synchronization, spiraling out of control and crashing into public areas. Although no serious injuries were reported, the show was immediately halted for safety reasons.
The fallout was swift. DAMODA’s attempt to break its own Guinness World Record—previously set in 2024 with 10,197 drones in Shenzhen—was disqualified. The company faced sharp criticism over the use of substandard components and a rushed setup, with experts pointing to inadequate signal coordination and poor risk management as likely causes of the incident.
Spectators described the scene as a “high-tech rainstorm” with drones dropping like confetti. “It was stunning at first,” said one attendee, “but then it became scary. You could hear them falling—some smashed into the pavement just a few feet away.”
The incident has sparked broader concerns about the safety of large-scale drone shows in urban environments, especially when thousands of devices operate simultaneously above crowds. City officials have since launched an investigation, promising stricter oversight of future events.
What began as a celebration of progress and unity instead highlighted the dangers of overambitious technology pushed too far, too fast. For now, DAMODA’s dream of reclaiming the world record lies grounded—along with hundreds of its drones.
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