Show with 1300 drones: Why you should travel to Geneva now

Cédric Schaller is under stress. The Directeur Générale of the French company Groupe F is responsible for the largest drone show in Europe. And on the day before the premiere on Ascension Thursday, the weather is showing its anti-drone side.

The wind is whipping across Lac Léman at 50 kilometres per hour. And that's a problem, because Schaller's 1300 drones can only navigate safely up to around 30 kilometres per hour. Fortunately, the weather is forecast to be much better for the three shows from 18 to 20 May.

The fear of competition from drones

"We've been setting up and testing for almost a week now," says Schaller. But the bad weather with rain and wind has put a spanner in the works. That's why the Directeur Générale doesn't really have time for journalists the day before the premiere.

The nervousness in the small camp on the artificial beach "Plage des Eaux-Vives" overlooking Geneva's city centre is palpable. They are working feverishly to keep to the schedule. Schaller then takes 30 minutes to give us a brief insight.

Many details are top secret. The French company is too afraid that the competition will copy the drones and pyrotechnic tricks.

Cédric Schaller and Groupe F are actually used to big events. For example, they organised the fireworks display at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. The event in Geneva, entitled "Feu Ô Lac", is also a really big event.

Thanks to the 1300 flying machines, it is the largest drone show ever held in Europe. "We've been preparing for this for three months," says Schaller. "The difficult thing is that we have very little space here."

This is surprising, given that the lake basin is almost a kilometre wide. "But the drones are at least one metre apart from each other," explains Schaller, taking one of the model aircraft out of the large tent. The rest of the drones are packed away from the wind on the charging stations. All totally secret, because they were developed in-house. "We've invested a lot in the large drones, pyrotechnics and lighting effects in particular."

Drones know their location to within a centimetre

We can take a look at the small model, which is used by the hundreds. A large LED light is mounted at the bottom and an RTK module at the top. The drone thus masters real-time kinematics: the exact position is not only measured with a normal GPS, but calculated with several satellite systems simultaneously. The operations centre knows where the drone is at all times to within one centimetre.

The show is controlled from a lorry trailer packed with technology. For once, we are allowed a quick look inside when the technicians take a few minutes break. We see 3D animations on the large flat screens, as well as the latest wind measurements and video images from the flight area. The operators are connected to the drones via a special radio range.

"Around 100 employees are then deployed at the shows themselves," says Cédric Schaller. They monitor every movement of the flying objects. If a drone dances out of line or other irregularities are detected, it flies away downwards and can land.

The security concept also includes the police closing the lake basin to boats. And what about the animals? "The big advantage is that, despite the pyrotechnics, the show is much quieter than a real firework display," says Schaller. That will please dogs and cats. There have never been any problems with birds, as they are used to noise in the city and airport environment and are also less active at night.

20-minute show on three evenings

Nevertheless, the Directeur Générale does not believe that drone shows will completely replace fireworks. "Drones are currently in vogue, a few years ago it was gigantic video or laser projections. In the medium term, it will be a combination of all technologies," he surmises. The big advantage is that this mix can be used to tell entire stories in the sky.

So "Feu Ô Lac" is not just a light spectacle, but a story accompanied by music. Geneva landmarks such as the lake and the 140-metre-high Jet d'Eau water fountain are also included. However, the drone boss does not want to reveal any details in advance.

The spectacle lasts around 20 minutes and starts at 10 pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The appropriate sound will be played at central locations via loudspeakers and throughout the city via a radio station. There will also be concerts, street food and special events around the lake basin throughout the weekend.

So it might not only be attractive for technology fans to travel to Geneva instead of Ticino on Ascension Day. A few affordable hotel beds are also still available. All information about "Feu Ô Lac" can be found on a special website.

Now Cédric Schaller really has to get going. He quickly tells us that the company is planning around ten really big shows a year. Then he disappears into the secret tent, drone in hand.