'Evolution' drone light show heading to Sunderland's doorstep for autumn equinox weekend

‘Evolution’, the drone light show by Celestial which claims to ‘take audiences on a mesmerising journey through time and space’, is coming to the Seat Unique Riverside Stadium in Chester-le-Street for the autumn equinox weekend.

The event on Saturday, September 21, 2024, will use hundreds of drones to tell a narrated story beginning with the Big Bang and journeying into the remarkable origins of conscious life on Earth.

Organisers say audiences can expect ‘epic storytelling with themes of transformation, growth and the perpetual dance of change’ as drones create single-cell organisms, dinosaurs, and the dawning of modern humans.

John Hopkins, Celestial co-founder and chief creative officer comments: “Evolution has been four years in the making. This is so much more than a drone light show, it’s an experience of stadium scale, created to bring audiences together using a new medium, the sky, to tell the story of time”.

Dominic Mills, founder and CEO of events firm Yuup, which is Celestial’s partner in the project, said: “We’re hugely excited to be partnering with Celestial to bring this unique spectacle to the North East and at such an epic scale.

“Our shows have now been viewed by 60,000 people and the show is now even bigger and better with more drones and a much longer show time than our early productions.

“Evolution offers a brand-new source of entertainment unlike anything anyone has ever seen before in Durham, encouraging people to look up and reconnect with the world”.

Gates will open at 6.30pm on Saturday, September 21, with food and drink outlets, and a live DJ ahead of the show starting at 8.15pm.

Early bird tickets cost £14.00 per adult and £10.00 for children and concessions, and are available until July 19 at yuup.co/evolution 

Full price tickets after that will be £17.00 per adult and £13.00 for children and concessions.