A preparation of almost a year and a natural scenario made to measure. The conditions were right for the drone show on December 4th in Ibiza to be a success. “The port in Ibiza is the best setting: space on all sides, a safe place, a perfect perspective and the reflection of the sea. All that gives a plus that other places do not have”, analyzes for La Voz de Ibiza Ernesto Albacete, commercial director of UMILES, the Spanish company responsible for the show, which involved 220 drones and was held in commemoration of the anniversary of the city as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
As Albacete explains, the show in Ibiza belongs to a series of shows performed throughout 2024 in 15 Spanish cities that have been recognized as World Heritage Sites, so the journey began to be planned in 2023. The show had a total of ten minutes and had the same basis in all cities: only the last three scenes were customized. As the largest of the Pitusas has been one of the last places where this show has arrived, the movement of the drones was more than oiled. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVeCjsRukm8 The project was worked together with the Department of Culture and Heritage of the City Council of Ibiza. Together with them an appropriate place was agreed, for safety and aesthetics, and what would be the three specific scenes for Ibiza that the show would have: Cathedral of Dalt-Vila, Logo 25 Aniversariom and Payesa Ibicenca. “We know, thanks to social networks and the return that the City Council has given us that the show has liked a lot,” says Albacete. It is not, of course, the first time that UMILES deploys its drones around the island. “In the summer season we have had a lot of work in the Balearic Islands,” he explains.
How 220 drones work
When Albacete comments that a show like the one in Ibiza involves some 220 drones, he has to clarify that “it’s not that we have one pilot per drone”. To manage the “swarm” two operators are needed, who control the computers with which the drones have several connection points. “On the one hand, they are connected by GPS. We also have an RPK antenna, which provides precision, and a WiFi antenna. The latter provides telemetry to know the battery level, the positioning of the drones and thus allows us to know if everything is in order. For example, if a drone runs out of battery, we warn it and can take it out of the swarm,” explains Albacete. In addition to the two operators, there are four other people who observe the operation of the show to detect possible problems.
Beyond the security provided by the software, shows of this magnitude require several rehearsals once the script has been designed and approved and the animations have been uploaded. In the case of a brand new show, two to three previous practices are required. “In the case of Ibiza, being a show almost the same as in other World Heritage cities, everything was already well rehearsed. But when we go to a new site, we make a technical visit to rule out the influence of the site’s magnetism or inhibitors.
A more careful alternative
Apart from the spectacular nature of a show with so many drones, there are other aspects that explain the good reception that the public has had. Albacete emphasizes that “these systems do not make noise”, while “respecting the environment, sensitive people -such as those on the autistic spectrum- and animals”. “People really like that,” says the UMILES representative. Along these lines, during the Christmas season, drone shows appear as a more sustainable alternative to traditional pyrotechnics. Not for nothing, the company works with three different types of shows (with 120, 150 and 220 drones respectively) in different cities of Spain with Christmas theme (none of them in the Balearic Islands area).
About UMILES
UMILES has a strong presence both in Spain and Chile (they have a headquarters in the city of Santiago), in addition to sporadic shows in other countries such as Portugal, Cuba, Mexico or Denmark. In Spain, half of its clients correspond to the public sector and the other half to the private sector. The company currently has 35 people on its staff. UMILES has helped to boost increases in the number of drones allowed by Spanish legislation. It was recently the first to receive a permit for shows with 1,000 drones, something they are testing for the second half of 2025.
