Behind the Scenes: Filming the Oasis Drone Swarm in Cardiff

Earlier this month, I headed down to Cardiff, Wales, for a unique and exciting shoot — the opening night of the Oasis Tour at the Principality Stadium. The event featured something pretty special: a drone swarm by Celestial Drones, forming the iconic Oasis logo high above the city skyline.

My friend Richard from Richard Elliott Aerial Filming was brought on to capture the spectacle. Richard regularly works with Celestial and was flying his DJI Inspire 3 to get close-range shots. But for this job, given the complexity of flying in a built-up city environment, they needed a second drone filming from further out. That’s where I came in — operating Richard’s Mavic 4 Pro from one of the nearby parks, offering a different angle on the action.

This was my first time witnessing a drone swarm in real life, and I couldn’t wait to get involved.

Getting Set Up

I arrived in Cardiff around 4pm and headed straight to the rugby grounds next to the stadium, where the Celestial team was setting up. Hundreds of drones were lined up, each carefully tested and checked through the control interface on their screens. It was impressive to see the sheer scale of the operation and the precision involved in coordinating a performance like this.

After meeting up with Richard, we scouted out the location where I’d be flying. It had been cleared with the local council and community ahead of time, and I gave South Wales Police a quick call to make them aware of a drone flight happening after dark.

Midnight Magic

As night fell, an Alanis Morissette concert elsewhere in the city meant the park I was flying from was briefly swarming with concertgoers, but by midnight it had cleared out completely. I was able to launch the Mavic and run a couple of test flights in peace. Unfortunately, Cardiff Castle didn’t switch on its floodlights as expected, so I had to adapt the shot list on the fly.

Then came the countdown. I saw the Celestial drones begin to rise, taking shape in the sky, and I launched my drone for real. With just 12 minutes to capture everything, there wasn’t much room for error. I had a few planned shots in mind, but quickly started improvising — flying behind trees, revealing wide cityscapes, and trying to bring out the scale and beauty of the display. Also capturing the skyline of Cardiff.

It felt like it was over in a flash. One moment I was filming the drones lighting up the sky, the next they were descending back to the rugby field. I handed off the footage, which the team seemed really happy with.

A Flying Visit

By 2am, I was back at my B&B, and the next morning I was already heading back to Scotland. A whirlwind trip — my first ever visit to Cardiff — but a brilliant experience to be part of. I’m looking forward to filming more with Richard and the Celestial team later this year on future Oasis events.