A town celebration in the heart of a royal park

The Fête de Marly returns every June to the grounds of the Domaine royal de Marly, in the Yvelines. For the Saturday 13 June 2026 edition, the town council wanted a night-time highlight that would be both popular and contemporary: free to attend, open from 8.30 pm and closed by the main show. The Grand Miroir basin, laid out under Louis XIV, provided a natural stage for the performance.

250 drones and pyrotechnics synchronised to the music

“From the Earth to the Moon” traces humanity’s relationship with the sky, from the dream of flight to the conquest of space. The 250 luminous drones drew swarm figures in dialogue with the pyrotechnic effects fired from the edges of the basin. Celesta’s teams wrote this moment of wonder, set the synchronisation to the music and deployed the illuminated pathway leading to the night show.

Safety and the regulatory framework

A production on this scale relies on a safety perimeter, a controlled audience capacity and the required administrative declarations. Drone flights fall under European regulation 2019/947. The pyrotechnic display is governed by French decree no. 2010-455 of 4 May 2010 on entertainment fireworks. Celesta’s certified pyrotechnicians and the autonomy of its ICPE-classified storage facility secured the production and its schedule.

A hybrid show of fireworks and drones: the benefit for the community

For a town, this kind of production creates a moment of collective memory, showcases a heritage site and brings the generations together with no ticket barrier. Choosing drones adds a narrative layer and lowers the sound footprint compared with fireworks alone. Our experience in the field: pairing drones with pyrotechnics holds a family audience’s attention better than a single medium. And when heatwaves lead to firing bans, a luminous drone show on its own can save a municipal night event from that force majeure.