The Bruges New Year's Eve drones 'fireworks' show - marred by technical difficulties - has seen unexpected views online, as a video of the event goes viral.
In just a few weeks, a video posted by Gonews, a Youtube channel with 132,000 followers, was viewed some 12,000 times. The city of Bruges announced late 2019 that it would replace its annual fireworks show on New Year’s Eve with a light display by drones, with no intention of ever going back to traditional means.
Reactions to the video have been mixed, with some applauding the historic city for picking an alternative to fireworks, while others have called the show lackluster, with one saying "this was so boring that my hand fell asleep while holding my pohone."
Due to a too high degree of humidity ultimately only half of the planned drones went into the air.
Speaking in December, Mayor Dirk De fauw (CD&V) was hopeful for the outcome of the show. “No other Belgian city has done this before us,” said De fauw. Using drones helps to prevent scaring animals, and is less harmful on the environment, but visitors should still expect a spectacular show, he added.
In the meantime, the city council and the organizers of the New Year's Eve have since decided that there will be no follow-up. Next year, the plan is for Bruges to go for low-noise fireworks instead.
Jules Johnston
The Brussels Times
