# Franchise Freedom in New York Central Park drone show – Drone Stories

> The first drone show ever over Central Park: 1,000 drones flew Franchise Freedom, a public art performance by DRIFT, over The Lake for tens of thousands.

Source: https://dronestories.com/drone-shows/franchise-freedom-in-new-york-central-park/

A thousand drones over the Manhattan skyline

# Franchise Freedom in New York Central Park

Together with Studio DRIFT, our open-air public art performance illuminated New York’s night sky for the first-ever drone performance over Central Park!

| | |
|---|---|
| Client | DRIFT |
| Location | New York - USA |
| Drones | 1,000 |
| Show length | 10 |
| Audience | Tens of thousands |
| Type | public |

More [drone shows in New York](/drone-shows/in/new-york/)

## The story behind the lights

After five years in the making, DRIFT and Drone Stories turned into reality their dream to bring Franchise Freedom to the cultural capital of the world. For the first drone flight ever done over New York’s Central Park, our award-winning performance was intended as a gift to the people of the city. Scaling the artwork to 1,000 drones from the original 300, the flight over the iconic park is the largest display of the aerial sculpture to date.

Premiering in 2017 at Art Basel Miami, Franchise Freedom, a work by DRIFT, created by the artists Lonneke Gordijn, Ralph Nauta and Lucas van Oostrum. In 2019, the aerial sculpture won Dezeen Magazine’s ‘Lighting Design of the Year.’

## THE FIRST DRONE PERFORMANCE OVER CENTRAL PARK

[Franchise Freedom](/drone-shows/franchise-freedom/) in New York had the intention to create a moment of connection for people from all boroughs and contribute to the artistic spirit and identity of the city.

The one-night event was free and open to the public. Audiences had the chance to see Franchise Freedom over three separate viewings on the night of Saturday, October 21st.

The large-scale piece of approximately 10 minutes duration was visible from various sightlines, attracting an audience of tens of thousands at the city’s iconic park.

## INSPIRED BY NATURE

A poetic blend of nature and technological innovation, Franchise Freedom is a kinetic aerial sculpture based on an algorithm developed from over ten years of research into starling behavior. The site-specific aerial sculpture reacts to its surroundings, creating the illusion of a flock of birds floating in unison above the night sky.

Franchise Freedom is a poetic illustration of how we, as humans, strive to live autonomously within societies defined by rules and conventions. Although the patterns seem random, and the impression of such a flock makes us think of freedom, the behavior of these birds is completely orchestrated and subject to many rules and survival instincts.

## PARTNERS

This artistic feat was brought to fruition thanks to the support of the New York City Mayor’s Office, NYC Parks, Therme US, Fishko Inc., and Nova Sky Stories.

## TECHNOLOGY, ART & NATURE

## Storytelling pioneers

Our[drone show company](/about/) loves to tell thought-provoking stories in the sky. Using the sky as our canvas, we have a track record of producing art and commercial drone shows worldwide. Franchise Freedom has flown all over the globe, premiering in 2017 at [Art Basel Miami](/drone-shows/franchise-freedom-art-basel-miami/), followed by shows at Burning Man in 2018, [NASA’s Kennedy Space Center](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNgQjBy1VA0) in 2019, the [Erasmus Bridge in Rotterdam](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnuEJLfJQdE) in 2020, and [UNICEF’s Gala](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XicmC-uC1D4) in 2022.

Have you seen this [Burning Man 2022 drone show](/drone-shows/burning-man/) or our recently flown [Austin City Limits ACL Festival drone show](/drone-shows/austin-city-limits-acl-festival/)? Are you interested in what a [drone show costs](/drone-show-cost/) or want to find out how we create a [drone show proposal](/magazine/drone-show-proposal/)? Or are you ready to make magic happen in the sky? [Contact us](/contact/) today.

Show by Drone Stories with Studio DRIFT · Drones by Nova Sky Stories. [Two different companies](/about/#nova-sky-stories).

Impact

## What it did online

Our own posts about Franchise Freedom in New York Central Park on Instagram, and what the audience wrote back.

| | |
|---|---|
| Video views | 26k |
| Likes | 2k |
| Comments | 28 |

* “Congratulations on culminating so many years of hard work with such a beautiful gift to the city”

 @chetindurak · Instagram
* “Great show! So worth the wait”

 @mattpugs · Instagram
* “So proud of my niece! Hers was the butterfly bed! 💕”

 @nattaz33 · Instagram

## More shows

[All shows](/drone-shows/)

[### FORMULA 1 LAS VEGAS GRAND PRIX

Formula 1 · Las Vegas - USA · 1,000 drones](/drone-shows/f1-las-vegas-gp-2023/)[### Shakira at Copacabana

Shakira · Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro · 1,500 drones](/drone-shows/shakira-copacabana/)[### Björk at Coachella

Björk · Coachella · Indio, California · 864 drones](/drone-shows/coachella-drone-show/)

Let’s collaborate

## Have a story that belongs in the sky?

Tell us the event, the place and the audience. Together we'll work out whether a drone show makes the impact you're after, and what it takes.

[Get a proposal](/proposal/)[Talk to a human](/contact/)