A huge festive show planned for Kent tonight has been postponed due to what organisers describe as “extreme weather”.
The Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer drone light show at the Kent Showground in Detling, Maidstone was expected to attract thousands of visitors.
The drone light show in Maidstone has been postponed. Picture: @LuminaSkyTheatre/Facebook
It comes just days after the same event in Sussex, also organised by Lumina Sky Theatre, was branded a flop.
A Rainham dad had warned others after travelling miles to see the display in Ardingly, only to find it was “nothing as advertised”.
Now ticketholders who had planned to attend the show in Kent have received texts and emails informing them of the postponement.
It said: “The safety of our guests is always our first priority.
“Drone shows are highly sensitive to weather, and heavy rainfall has also caused serious disruption to the grounds at the venue.
How the drones of Rudolph actually looked at the event in Sussex
“With this in mind, we are unable to safely deliver the event.”
Potential new dates for the event have been proposed for December 10, 11, 12 or 13.
All existing tickets will automatically transfer to the new date. Those who cannot make it will be provided with “instructions for alternative options”.
Lumina added: “We will continue to monitor the forecast over the coming days, and when it’s safe to do so, we will confirm the new date 48 hours in advance of the show.
“We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused – we know how much everybody is looking forward to the show.
Some drone images were unrecognisable
“We are committed to delivering a safe and spectacular experience, as soon as we can. Thank you for your understanding and support.”
The news comes after last week’s event at the South of England showground in Sussex was also postponed from Saturday to Sunday due to the weather.
The drone display had also run 25 minutes behind schedule, but it was the sham show itself that sparked controversy.
KentOnline spoke to dad Sean Tong from Rainham earlier this week, who dubbed it “amateurish” with fairground rides and food stalls overpriced.
He said: “The drone show started and you could see straight away that there weren’t 600 drones as advertised.
Sean said food stalls were also overpriced
“I think there were only about 50 that I could see. The drones were supposed to be in sync so it could tell a story, but they were out of sequence with the music and narration.
“Some of the drones were supposed to make letters or words, but because there were drones missing, the words weren’t as they were supposed to be shown. You also couldn’t make out what the images were.
“The kids kept asking, ‘What’s that?’ so I tried to mask it and say, ‘Oh, that’s supposed to be this’, but they weren’t impressed.”
Sean later wrote to Lumina Sky Theatre asking for a full refund for the experience.
He is among nearly 1,500 people in a social media group asking for their money back.
In a statement, the organiser apologised to those who attended, citing technical difficulties for the disappointment.
But it has since written to ticketholders to say it is “not currently offering refunds” and is instead providing fully transferable tickets that can be used at any of its other shows.
