Summer at the Lake: Fireworks and 500 Drones
Ignis Brunensis continues from June 27. 3 fireworks shows and 2 drone shows, each featuring 500 drones, will light up the sky above the water.
This year’s program will take place at the start of summer vacation, and several surprises await the audience. “The festival has been gradually shifting from May to the end of June over the long term. This year, the new MotoGP date also accelerated the shift. The events on the Brno Lake will take place a week after the motorcycle races, and it worked out perfectly to coincide with the start of summer holidays. Among the new features, I’d highlight that on all three evenings at the lake, spectators will enjoy a light installation in the form of a laser beacon, which will complement the multimedia experiences during the Ignis Brunensis and Ignis Drone Show,” revealed Ondřej Morávek from the organizing company SNIP&CO.
On Saturday, June 27, the sky above the reservoir will light up for the first time this year. After a year, both artistic fireworks and patterns created by glowing drones, directed by Spectrum Production, will return above the water’s surface, with a record 500 drones taking flight. The first drone show, titled “Four Seasons” and dedicated to the cycle of nature and life, will be accompanied by narration from actor and radio host Zdeněk Junák.
At 10:30 p.m., spectators will then watch the fireworks display “Running Up That Hill,” directed by the Czech team Flash Barrandov SFX. Led by designer Jaroslav Štolba, the pyrotechnicians will present in Brno a portion of the show they are preparing for the Cannes Fireworks Festival.
“This fireworks show will be the 150th fireworks display in the history of Ignis Brunensis,” adds Jiří Morávek of SNIP & CO.
The reservoir will also be bustling with activity on Monday, June 29, and Tuesday, June 30. At U Sirky Beach, as part of the “Summer at the Brno Lake” event, visitors will be able to enjoy concerts for both children and adults (such as Ventolin and Buty) and a variety of sports activities, sailboat rides, and even tours of a fire truck. Admission to the event is free.
On Wednesday, July 1, the Swiss company Sugyp – which has been a hit in Brno in the past – will return to Bystrc. In 2013, they took home the festival’s grand prize. Their pyro-musical “The Enigma of Paradoxes” will take audiences on a surprising journey through various musical styles. “We ask the audience to stop looking for logic and simply let themselves be carried away by their emotions,” say the Swiss pyrotechnicians.
The second fireworks Saturday, July 4, will feature the second drone show, “Birth of Life”, about the origin of planets, cells, and organisms, with voice-over by actor and director Petr Štěpán. A total of 500 drones will light up the sky in this show as well, thanks to a new system of special launch boxes. The fireworks competition will conclude with the show “The Pendulum of Light and Silence” by the Finnish team JoHo Pyro. They are the first Finnish fireworks company to perform in Brno.
All the fireworks displays will feature the iconic theme “Discombobulate” by Hans Zimmer from the Sherlock Holmes films. The organizers selected this piece to mark the 140th anniversary of the famous detective’s origin.
Dominika Pivodová Lišková