- News
- UK
- Home News
Organiser Lumina Drones says the show at the South of England Showground was hit by ‘technical difficulties’
Athena StavrouTuesday 02 December 2025 20:08 GMTComments
open image in galleryPeople have demanded refunds after a Christmas drone show didn’t meet expectations (Sarah Monckton/Lumina Drones)
Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world
Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email
Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email
Email*SIGN UPI would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice
People who went to a Christmas drone show in West Sussex are demanding refunds after technical difficulties left many disappointed over the spectacle.
Ticket holders said they paid hundreds of pounds to bring their families to see the 600 drones promised at Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Drone Show at the South of England Showground at the weekend.
However, some said they were left confused and unable to make out the sky formations, as a number of drones failed to take off.
open image in galleryDrones failed to take off to make up the planned formations at the show (Sarah Monckton)When it came to the grand finale, spectators claimed no drones managed to go up into the air at all, leaving the sky completely dark. Tickets were advertised online from £15.99.
One person who paid for VIP tickets for themselves and their two daughters said people were “booing” by the end of the show.
“The event was delayed by 20 minutes and when it did eventually start half the drones were missing and to the naked eye you couldn't make out anything,” they wrote on social media.
open image in galleryPeople who attended the show are demanding a refund (Sarah Monckton)Another, who went as part of a family of five adults and one child, said the sound and narration kept cutting off and many drones weren’t working during the show, which lasted around 12 minutes.
“You couldn’t make the pictures or characters out and it was so short. Then after the pretty scary story about the snow monster came to an end you’d expect a happy ending - it is Christmas after all but instead it just stopped,” they wrote, adding they had driven for around an hour and a half to get there.
The company behind the show, Lumina drones, apologised to customers who were affected by the “technical difficulties”.
open image in galleryLumina Drones said it was to contact all ticket holders via email after the show (Sarah Monckton)“We spent months creating a spectacular Christmas show and were excited for all our guests to experience it. We are incredibly disappointed that we were unable to deliver the entire show to the high standards we adhere to,” a spokesperson from Lumina Drones said, adding its team was communication with the drone manufacturers in France to find out why drones failed to take off.
They said they would contact all ticket holders via email as soon as possible with an update, though more than 1,000 people have already joined a Facebook group named “Full Refunds - Rudolph - Lumina Sky Theatre”.
People have also shared complaints about the price of food and drink and issues with car parking, though Lumina said these were operated by third parties.
More about
dronesWest SussexJoin our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments
