Vision of the event filmed by onlookers showed the drones constantly dropping during the show as the sky lit up with Christmas-themed shapes.

One person could be heard saying,“see ya”,as they filmed the devices falling.

City of Perth Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas said the incident was the first of its kind since the city began putting on the light shows.

“We had a very successful launch event which was in February this year,a spectacular success,and Saturday night’s show was a spectacular and flawless success,” he said.

“From a city’s point of view,what I am absolutely delighted about is how many people we had in the city,how activated Elizabeth Quay and Barrack Square was.

“Of course I accept that the drone show on Sunday night fell short of expectation,and that was,as I understand,because of technical issues ... things can go wrong with technology of this kind.”

Zempilas said the company,not City of Perth ratepayers,would foot the bill for the broken drones.

The City of Perth will await the findings of the Drone Sky Show review before proceeding with future planned shows.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority has been informed of the incident.

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