Drone show in Matosinhos breaks Guinness record

Matosinhos entered the Guinness Book of Records last weekend, after a choreographed display involving 3,097 drones flying simultaneously, which lit up the skies over Greater Porto and drew thousands of people to Titan beach in Matosinhos.

The performance took place on the night of 19 June, at the opening of Air Invictus, a festival which over three days featured various aerial displays in the skies over Porto, Gaia and Matosinhos, including F-16, KC-390 and A-29 Super Tucano aircraft from the Portuguese Air Force. The event also included exhibitions and several workshops.

The Spanish company, which days earlier had taken part in the blessing ceremony for the Tower of Jesus at the Sagrada Família in Barcelona – in the presence of Pope Leo XIV – brought to Matosinhos a drone show synchronised with imagery paying tribute to Portugal and to Porto, the “unvanquished city”, with depictions of the city’s historic monuments.

There was also a night-time aeromodelling display with light effects and music from the 1990s, titled “Revenge of the 90s”, which painted the sky over Porto with planes, astronauts, satellites and much more, the Matosinhos municipal council (source in Portuguese), one of the event’s partners, reported.

The record was certified on site by a representative of the Guinness Book of Records organisation, who confirmed the award as “the largest phrase formed by 3,097 drones”, beating the previous record of 3,050 drones, and as “the largest drone light show in Europe”.

The dual recognition was awarded to Flock Drone Art and to Air Invictus, the organisation behind the air festival.