MYAKU-MYAKU Shines in Osaka’s Night Sky! “Expo 2025 Is Coming! 1 Year to Go. Special Drone Show”

Maido! Betty here.
With PR events for Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan happening all over, the “Expo 2025 Is Coming! 1 Year to Go. Special Drone Show” was held in Osaka.
In this article, I’ll tell you what this surprise drone show event was like.

The venue: Nakanoshima Gate Sea Station, right by the Osaka Municipal Central Wholesale Market

The “Expo 2025 Is Coming! 1 Year to Go. Special Drone Show” to build excitement for the hosting of Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan was held on May 14, 2024.
The location was the area near Nakanoshima Gate Sea Station, right by the Osaka Municipal Central Wholesale Market, on the west coast of Nakanoshima connecting to Tenjinbashi.

This picture is the view from the Nakanoshima Center Building, and the area jutting out in front of the camera is the west coast of Nakanoshima. The venue for the drone show was a bit beyond that (where the Dojimagawa River flowing from the right joins the Tosaborigawa River on the left).

It so happens that the Osaka Municipal Central Wholesale Market right by the event location is a large site bringing together marine products, produce, processed goods, and more from all over Japan to supply to Osaka and Kansai. It’s said that over 12,000 cars enter and leave in a day!

Just before the start of the show: Around 500 drones ready on the ground

This drone show was an event for the media, so it was not announced in advance. Since it was something of a “secret” event, only members of the media were onsite an hour before it started.
Meanwhile, drone preparations were underway if you shifted your attention to the river deck.

There were lots of red lights on the deck, making me wonder what was going on. 💦

After a while, the lights turned green!
Around 500 drones were used in the show. Maybe the color change was a trial before launch?

The show was scheduled to start at 7:30 PM. Thirty minutes before, the promoter gave a briefing on taking pictures to everyone from the press. A photo shot in a test the previous day was shown, and all the media members who saw it dispersed to the photography spot.

Although the sky was fairly bright 30 minutes before the event, it grew darker as the appointed time approached.

The sky was looking perfectly clear.
There was barely a breeze: perfect conditions for a drone show.
Then, 7:30 PM came with a reverberating whirring sound, and the drones gleaming red and blue took off all at once!

The surprise drone show begins! A total of 12 scenes adorn Osaka’s night sky

The lights of the flying drones went out, leaving the sky completely dark.
“Huh?” I thought. A second later, the Japanese main slogan for Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan, “Expo 2025 is coming!” and the tagline “Towards a brighter future for all” emerged!
The surprise drone show had finally begun!

I realized that people who caught on to the drone show were gathered around me, saying “Ooh!” and “Wow!”

The drones rose to a maximum height around 140 m. Then, they formed red and blue orbs that, little by little, began to link.

The two orbs joined together to form one large orb. Even a complex picture like this was possible!
Then, they transformed into “EXPO 2025” and the Expo logo, and again into MYAKU-MYAKU!

The instant MYAKU-MYAKU appeared, a small child near me shouted, “Who is that?” 😊
Then, told, “That’s called MYAKU-MYAKU,” the child asked, “Well, where can I meet it?” It would be great if that child came to the Expo!

The approximately 10-minute drone show adorned the sky with pictures and writing in a total of 12 scenes.

Even though they were programmed, I was nervous that so many drones flying at once would bump into each other. 💦
At any rate, my first drone show was a more thrilling event than I expected!

The drone show builds excitement for Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan: Video also streaming on X

This event was managed by Drone Show Japan, Inc. They are the drone show company with the No. 1 track record in Japan: their work includes the drone show at the J-League 30th Anniversary Special Match held at the National Stadium and the show at the Japan Anime & Character Drone Show Festival “STARDANCE in Yokohama Hakkeijima Sea Paradise.”

Drone Show Japan decided to put on the first drone show by a Japanese company to promote Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan one year before its opening by making a proposal to the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition.
This was a surprise event not viewed by the general public, but it seems that other drone events will be held in the future. Nex time, I hope many people can enjoy the show!

Well, that’s all for my report on the drone show.
You can see a video on MAIDO’s X page, so check it out if you’d like!

大阪・関西万博開幕まで1年を記念して、中之島でドローンショーが行われたよ🌃

500機ものドローンが「くるぞ、万博。」のコピーやミャクミャクなど10シーン以上に変化😆✨
ミャクミャクが手を振ってる姿がかわいかった〜❤️#大阪観光サポーターOsakaBob #くるぞ万博 #EXPO2025 #大阪関西万博 pic.twitter.com/uMdwe96L9X

— Osaka Bob〈公式〉 (@Bobfamily_ogtb) May 14, 2024

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