The residents of Shellharbour are planning to celebrate the upcoming New Year Evening 2027 with a flash through a grand drone light show on Shell Cove. However, for this, people of Shellharbour must sure a minimum of $200,000 as external funds.
New Year’s Eve Proposal at the Shellharbour’s Council Meeting
According to the updates obtained from a recent council meeting at Shellharbour City, a few councilors unanimously given a proposal to analyze the feasibility of hosting a grand, environment-friendly, and pet-friendly New Year’s Eve event on December 31 2026 at Shell Cove. The councilors have even proposed for a drone show at 9 pm instead of using any traditional firework.
The report obtained from the council meeting also highlighted a few other details related to event formats, show locations and sizes of the upcoming NYE event. Simultaneously, the meeting report revealed details on the traffic, crowd capacity, parking facilities, and sustainable waste management practices.
Councilor Kellie Marsh’s Proposal and Budget Estimation
While writing the proposal, Councilor Kellie Marsh endorsed Shell Cove Harbour as the perfect location for hosting a drone show on Shellharbour South Beach. He also highlighted that the drone show will have 500-plus drones and for this, the city needs a budget of about $310,000. Alternatively, Cr Marsh stipulated other council members to secure at least $200,000 as external funds through sponsorships and grants.
Councilor Kellie Marsh commented, “We are blessed to reside in a beautiful Shellharbour City and we should showcase it to the world with a grand drone show. We deserve the financial and economic benefits obtained from the show and the cohesion that may come to us all together. We have never organized such a mega show at the marina. We must showcase our South Beach and the surrounding beautiful marina and I think the upcoming New Year’s Eve is an excellent opportunity for us to do so.”
Carnival-Style Event Proposal by the Councilor John Davey
Later, another Councilor John Davey highlighted a picture of a carnival-style and family-friendly event with pre-show entertainment features. He also suggested to celebrate the marina and the nearby areas with a flash of the drone show. Moreover, Cr John Davey proposed to leverage the event with various tourism and local dining businesses. Moreover, the Cr put efforts to offer temporary presence and considerations to food/beverage providers and entertainers.
Mayor Chris Homer Perceived the Drone Show Proposal as a Branding Opportunity
Mayor Chris Homer of Shellharbour City described the Drone Show proposal progressive by showing the people’s concern on the negative impact of fireworks on pets. Simultaneously, the city’s Mayor perceived the proposal as an excellent branding opportunity with the help of drones for sponsorships. According to the Mayor, “Drone light shows are a relatively low-impact and low-noise products. Also, they offer an exclusive visual experience by serving as suitable options for wildlife and pets.”
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Other Councilors’ Opinion on the Drone Show Plan
Other councilors attended the meeting also supported for the flash of drones for the NYE 2027 at Shell Cove. Cr Rob Petreski said that initially he got shocked by a lump sum amount of $310,000 required for the event. He was concerned about the cost will be about $26,000 per minute if there will be a 12-minute show. However, he has trust on the financial strategy mentioned in the report, which estimated to obtain about 65% of costs via external funds.
Cr Rob Petreski said that if he and his councilors managed to get external funds i.e. both sponsorship/private and government grand funds to up to $200,000, the financial burden of the city will reduce to $110,000 only.
At the end of the councilors meeting, Cr Mitch Ellis said that he is in full support of choosing Shell Cove to be the Drone Show venue for the New Year Eve 2027. The spot will help viewing from diverse locations across the harbor and the surrounding beaches. Simultaneously, it will avoid the problem of vacating public from the boats moored in the surrounding marine area.
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