No CNY drone show at MBS on 17 Feb after crowd issues during 10 Feb show
Following large crowds at the inaugural Marina Bay Sands (MBS) Chinese New Year (CNY) drone show, the upcoming show scheduled for Saturday (17 Feb) has been cancelled and brought forward to Thursday (15 Feb).
Other scheduled shows remain on the same days, but will take place at 9pm instead of 8pm, MBS said in a statement on Tuesday (13 Feb).
After the first drone show on 10 Feb, wet weather and crowds conspired to squeeze audience members into the mall.
Some visitors even claimed that a stampede could have occurred.
MBS announce updates to CNY drone show schedule
The updated schedule as of today (13 Feb) is as follows:
- 15 Feb
- 16 Feb
- 18 Feb
All shows will start at 9pm instead of 8pm, according to MBS.
Image courtesy of Marina Bay Sands
However, if there is wet weather, the 9pm show will be rescheduled to 10pm instead — provided the weather conditions are “optimal” then.
“The adjustments are made to optimise the viewing experience and to better regulate traffic flow, especially at the weekend,” MBS said.
“The public is also advised that drone flights may be impacted by unpredictable weather conditions, and final show timings may change on the actual day. Enhanced crowd control measures remain in place on show dates.”
These enhanced measures include:
- Mall entrances/exits located on Level 1 of The Shoppes stretching from Black Tap to Da Paolo Gastronomia will close progressively from 5pm to 10pm
- MRT Exit D (near Sampan area in the mall) may be closed for arriving guests, depending on the crowd situation.
“We also urge all visitors to disperse in an orderly manner and to follow on-site instructions from our security personnel,” MBS said.
Train commuters should also alight/depart from other MRT stations, to avoid overcrowding at Bayfront MRT, MBS advised:
- Use Downtown MRT station for those at Mist Walk
- Use Promenade MRT station for those at Helix bridge
Large crowds turn up for first show on 10 Feb
Large crowds packed the venue on the day of the first CNY drone show on 10 Feb.
Even before the show started at 8pm, crowds had already packed the venue.
Large Crowd Packs MBS For CNY Drone Show, Struggles To Disperse Afterwards
The 10-minute show turned out to be much more popular than anticipated. It did not help that wet weather caused many to rush back to the mall to take shelter.
This led to at least one Facebook post calling the event a “disaster”, pointing out that a stampede almost occurred.
The post also said there were no signages or queue management and on top of that, she and her husband had to take actions to prevent their children from getting crushed.
The Facebook post has been taken down at the time of this article.
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Featured image courtesy of Marina Bay Sands.
