Celesta designs drone shows for brands.
We design and produce light drone shows and fireworks displays for product launches, corporate events and brand campaigns, from writing the flight to the last drone landing.
- From 200 to over 2,000 drones
- Feasibility of the design tested prior to validation
- France, Europe, the Middle East, Asia
For marketing departments, advertisers and their agencies
We work with marketing departments, advertisers and their agencies looking for a spectacular format able to carry a message in front of thousands of spectators, on site and on social media. You set the message; we tell you what can be drawn in the sky.
Marketing strategies
You are allocating a budget across several levers. We give you an early ballpark figure and the real reach of the set-up, so you can compare on figures.
Brands and advertisers
You’re presenting an identity to an audience who may or may not recognise it within two seconds. We test how legible your logo is against the sky before you reveal it to anyone.
Media and activation agencies
You are building a plan in which every touchpoint has its function. We design the drone show as the highlight and plan the camera angles as we write the flight. Details of how we work with brand and communications agencies and MICE agencies are on their dedicated pages.
Drones, pyrotechnics, sound, lighting and video mapping
We offer the drone show on its own or combined with pyrotechnics, sound, lighting and video mapping, depending on the message. We coordinate these disciplines from a single control desk and set them to the same running order.
Light drones
From 200 to more than 2,000 drones, sized to the site and the effect sought. Writing of the aerial story, from the animated logo to the sequence of figures.
Fireworks displays
From close-up fireworks on the façade to a grand display in front of several thousand spectators, right through to the pyromusical finale set to your soundtrack.
Video mapping
Projection onto a product, a façade or an entire monument, to carry a brand message.
Sound and light show
Musical spatialisation and architectural contrasts, to set the scene before the climax.
Stage special effects
Cold sparks, flames, lasers, thick fog and confetti, both indoors and outdoors.
Aerial displays
Flyboards and aerial performers: when the brand wants a human body in the image, rather than just a silhouette.
Shape, colour, movement, scale: our settings
From the very first discussion, we explain the physical constraints of a drone show. The technical side of the discipline is covered on the drone light show page.
What you get
The limit we set
The form
A symbol recognisable from hundreds of metres away, held aloft for several seconds, that the public can photograph and share.
Each drone carries a single light source. At flight altitude, the finest details of your symbol disappear: we strip it back to its signature, the one that can be read from afar and that the public shares.
Colour
A distinctive brand colour applied across the entire design, clearly visible against a black background and consistent with your other marketing materials.
Our drones emit light: dark colours and shades close to black do not show in the sky. We show you the expected result before you confirm.
The movement
A figure that turns into another before the audience’s eyes.
Each transition takes from the flight time: the more figures we sequence, the shorter each one is. We work with you to decide which figures stay on screen long enough to be photographed.
The ladder
A visible presence extending well beyond the event’s boundaries, making no noise and with no fallout, even in places where a fire would be impossible.
The size of the figure depends on the number of drones and the height allowed on site. Our pyrotechnicians and drone pilots check these parameters before quoting, as they set the budget as much as the effect of the show.
The four roles we keep in-house
On the night of the show, we have no second take, so we keep these four roles in-house.
From 200 to over 2,000 drones
Each fleet is tailored to the venue, the audience size and the desired effect. The drone pilots who fly the fleet are our own and are listed in the file: we do not subcontract the piloting of a flight over the public.
Aviation compliance
We will submit and withdraw the application, and we will let you know as soon as the site has been assessed whether the height required for your stunt is permitted there.
Timecode synchronisation
Drones, fireworks, lighting and video are set to the same time-code. The choreography is simulated and then rehearsed in real conditions before the night of the show.
A single point of contact
The same person oversees your branding, your campaign schedule and your film crew, from the first test shoot right through to the handover of the footage.
Your part and ours, step by step
Each stage has two columns: what you send us, and what we produce in return.
You
We
01
You set the objective
What the project is intended to achieve, for whom, and the proposed location. The location determines the permitted height, and therefore the size of the figure.
01
Creative brief and description of the sky
Airspace, proximity to an aerodrome, permitted height, clearance from the ground. You’ll know very quickly whether the location will allow you to achieve the effect you have in mind.
02
You entrust us with the symbol
The logo, the tagline, the object to appear in the sky, in your source files, before any internal presentation.
02
Artistic proposal and readability test
We simulate the layout based on the number of units envisaged and show you what it will actually look like. If any simplifications are needed, you’ll know this before you commit.
03
You lock in the date
We file the application on this date: if it changes after submission, the administrative clock is reset to zero.
03
Design and compliance
Airspace dossier, risk analysis and coordination with the site. You will receive copies of the acknowledgements for your campaign monitoring.
04
You are organising the filming
Tell us who is filming and for which format: we give you the best angles.
04
Production and rehearsals
Rehearsals under real-world conditions, finalising camera angles with your director and confirming the cue for the start with your production control team.
05
You are broadcasting
Social media, press, retail, next announcement. The footage of the flight is then used on social media, in the press and in stores.
05
Coordination on the day and feedback
Deployment by certified teams and production control. We then provide you with the data we have collected, in accordance with the terms set out in the quote, along with a report detailing what actually happened during the flight – including any deviations – for your future campaigns.
Lead times for a drone show
Unlike a media buy, the timetable depends on the authorities processing the application.
45 days
For administrative authorisations
This is the minimum requirement before a drone light flight, and this counter resets if the date changes. For a campaign, we therefore ask you to set the date of the operation first, even before the budget.
2 to 6 months
Development and testing
The time it takes us to write the show, secure the venue and finalise the administrative paperwork. If the production includes a fireworks display, you’ll need to allow an extra month for the pyrotechnic permits.
45 j
Airspace
Minimum lead time for the file, before the flight
€10,000
Starting point
For a drone light show
0
Noise and fallout
Flights possible at venues closed to fireworks
+20
Countries of operation
To roll out an operation internationally
The risks of a live medium, and how we handle them
Unlike the other channels in your plan, we cannot adjust a flight while it runs or relaunch it the next day. Here is how we limit this risk, and what we expect from you.
The risk that this creates
How we cover it
A design approved on a computer image
You approve a design in a computer-generated image, and then see it in real life in front of your audience and guests.
A rehearsal under real-life conditions
The choreography is simulated, then flown before the evening’s performance.
The weather risk to the flight
Wind can prevent a flight, and your campaign has already been launched.
Early warning and options
We monitor conditions upstream and will notify you in writing as soon as any serious concerns arise, setting out what is still feasible and the course of action we recommend.
No usable footage
The flight lasts a few minutes. If nobody has filmed it properly, the investment ends with the evening.
The filming is carried out in the system
We highlight the angles from which the image should be viewed and the exact moment of the key action, so that your team doesn’t miss it.
Our work with drones and pyrotechnics
The drones fly on their own or with a fireworks display, depending on the project.
Luminous drone showsMarly-le-Roi Town Festival 2026: Drones and FireworksA town celebration in the heart of a royal park The Fête de Marly returns every June to the grounds of the Domaine royal de M…View the project
Luminous drone showsPyrotechnic display featuring drones in BuchyA demonstration for local authorities In Buchy, we organised a technical demonstration combining a pyrotechnic display and a…View the project
PyrotechnicsFireworks for the Cévennes Steam Train at 40The context: a heritage railway line turns 40 Since 1986, the Train à Vapeur des Cévennes has linked Anduze to Saint-Jean-du-…View the project
Preparing your brand event
International launches, conventions, corporate evenings, official events or MICE programmes: send us the venue, the planned date and the source file of your logo, and we reply with an initial feasibility check.
Your questions about brand drone shows
Can our logo really be drawn in the sky?
Often, but not always exactly as it is. Each device carries a single point of light: fine lines, tight contours and delicate typefaces are lost at the distance from which the audience is viewing them. We simulate your logo using the planned number of devices and show you the expected result before any internal presentation.
How many drones are needed for a brand event?
From 200 to more than 2,000 drones, depending on the scale of the operation and the effect sought. The number sets two things: the size of the figure and its level of detail. Each fleet is sized to order, from the site, the audience capacity and the authorised height.
Can we match our brand colours exactly?
Our drones emit light: bright, saturated colours come across very well, whilst dark tones and shades close to black do not exist in a night sky. We’ll tell you right from the start what your colour palette will look like, and we’ll work with you to find the most accurate equivalent.
Can drones, pyrotechnics and special effects be combined?
Yes, and it is common. We coordinate the drones, pyrotechnics, sound, lighting and video mapping in one coherent narrative, set to the time-code. If the set-up includes a fireworks display, allow an extra month of authorisations for the pyrotechnic part.
Is the show designed to generate content for social media?
Yes. The flight lasts a few minutes and cannot be replayed: we point out the angles from which the figure really reads and the exact moment of the main move, so your film crew does not miss it.
How much time should be allowed for in a campaign plan?
At least forty-five days before the flight for the airspace application, and this countdown starts again if the date changes. You should also allow two to six months to write the show, secure the venue and finalise the administrative paperwork. For a simpler indoor production involving stage flames or cold sparks, shorter lead times may be possible.
What happens if the wind prevents the flight?
We monitor the conditions in advance and will notify you in writing as soon as any serious concerns arise, setting out the options still available and the course of action we recommend. The final decision rests with you, as it concerns your campaign; the technical decision not to fly is ours, and we take full responsibility for it.
Is this event suitable for a product launch or a conference?
Yes: whether it’s product launches, conferences, corporate evenings, incentive events or formal functions, the set-up is tailored to the programme’s objective. For a product unveiling in particular, the product launch page details the scenography of the reveal; all professional formats are listed on the corporate events page.
What authorisations and security safeguards are in place?
Each flight is subject to an airspace file and a risk assessment in accordance with French regulations, with registered drone pilots. As regards pyrotechnics, our pyrotechnicians hold the required certificate for category F4 and theatre effects, and the products are dispatched from our ICPE-licensed storage facility.
How much does a drone light show cost?
A drone light show starts at 10,000 euros. We set this amount mainly according to the number of drones used, the duration of the flight and the airspace restrictions at the venue. We also price in the complexity of the figures, as a transition takes up flight time.