SINGAPORE — Despite the sudden downpour on Saturday (Feb 10), thousands flocked to Marina Bay Sands (MBS) to witness its Chinese New Year drone show.

The highly anticipated show that occurred over the public holiday weekend from Saturday to Monday, however, drew some criticism for not living up to expectations.

Videos online featured reviews from disappointed spectators that called the 10-minute drone show “underwhelming” and advised viewers not to attend the drone show on the remaining days.

Other netizens, however, advised that a different viewing point could make a world of difference and drastically improve the viewing experience.

One netizen wrote: “There are plenty of places to view this show if you know where to go.” 

Another netizen who watched the show from The Esplanade said: “I watched (the show) on the other side and it was not only totally fine but one of the most spectacular things I’ve seen.” 

“Watch from Esplanade! Went yesterday and the sky was clear. Absolutely majestic performance,” said a netizen.

All remaining shows this Thursday, Friday and Sunday will start at 9pm, instead of 8pm. 

The show scheduled for this Saturday will take place on Thursday instead.

The changes were made to better manage the crowd and "optimise viewing experience", said MBS in a statement on Tuesday. 

The dragon drone show features 1,500 drones forming a dragon over Marina Bay to celebrate Chinese New Year and is jointly organised by the Singapore Tourism Board, MBS and UOB.

'UNDERWHELMING'

Content creator Ms Chiara Ang posted footage of the show opening with green and white lit drones floating into the sky before forming various auspicious Chinese motifs like the Chinese character for “spring” and swimming koi fishes in the sky.

Red and orange drones formed a curved line at one point in Ms Ang’s video but its dispersed placement made it hard to make out the shape it was forming.

“What is this, I can’t even tell?”, captioned Ms Ang in the video.

The highlight of the show — the mythical horned green Chinese dragon — was also an abysmal display for Ms Ang.

“Is this a dragon or a skeleton?”, she asked referring to the sparse drones that formed a skeletal image.

She also vlogged her experience dealing with the squeeze and a sudden downpour that occurred a few minutes into the show.

Due to the rain, spectators sought shelter at the sheltered pavilion outside MBS. 

Ms Ang filmed tourists wincing as they passed through the crowd, with one young woman commenting that the crowd is “crazy”.

Footage also showed shoppers shoulder to shoulder in the mall, with barely any visible room for walking.

Ms Ang warned viewers not to attend the remaining shows as it was too “packed”.

Similarly, content creator “marventurestv” vlogged that the show did not match up to his expectations.

He contrasted a video of a dragon soaring majestically through the MBS skyline with footage of the actual show, which seemed to fall flat in comparison.

Footage of Saturday's show showed a green dragon floating leisurely in the night sky. It is unclear where he had obtained the first footage from.

However, the show appeared to be still an enjoyable one for the TikTok user, who wrote: “I still enjoyed it and managed to take some good shots."

Ms Ang’s video, posted on Monday (Feb 12), received over 900,000 views and more than 26,000 likes within a day.

“I just went, it was so boring,” wrote one user on Monday. 

A TikTok user commented under “marventurestv”’s video: “When you compare the China drone show and Singapore’s...Singapore’s (show) is simpler, shorter and more underwhelming.”

Another online user made a comparison with drone shows overseas: “Other countries have 8K resolution dragons, Singapore’s dragon is 240P (resolution).”

“Marventurestv”’s video, posted two days ago, garnered over 350,000 views as of Tuesday. 

SAFETY CONCERNS

Many viewers also expressed concern for the lack of crowd management, referencing the 2022 crowd crush in Itaewon in Seoul that resulted in 159 deaths. 

“I thought we learnt some lessons from the Itaewon crowd crush,” wrote one TikTok user. 

MBS said it would step up crowd control measures on remaining show dates, such as closing the mall entrances and exits located on Level 1 progressively from 5pm to 10pm to avoid overcrowding.

Depending on the crowds, MBS may close the Bayfront MRT Exit D for arriving guests, according to its website.

Visitors are also encouraged to explore alternate viewing locations along the Marina Bay waterfront.