A planned free drone show to celebrate Toronto's 190th birthday on Wednesday night never took to the skies above Casa Loma as scheduled, leaving shivering attendees assembled to view the spectacle confused and disappointed.

The planned free drone show was one of two celebrations to commemorate the city's 19th decade, scheduled to take to the skies on Wednesday, March 6, at 8 p.m. However, Transport Canada would ultimately shut down the celebration before the display could begin.

There's a free drone show and fireworks in Toronto this week https://t.co/iD9HWnFHgW

— blogTO (@blogTO) March 4, 2024

Things still looked good in the minutes before the drone show was to begin, with Celebrate Toronto sharing an Instagram reel that read, "We're almost ready for lift-off at Casa Loma to celebrate Toronto's 190th Anniversary."

The minutes ticked by, though, and the drones were still grounded long after the scheduled start of the show.

With takeoff long overdue and the crowd growing impatient, the first sign of trouble came when a follow-up message was posted, asking viewers to "Please stay south of Davenport to view the show."

Shortly after, another message notified the public that "the drone show is being held up due to pedestrian traffic in the safety buffer."

As many waited for the show to begin, organizers again asked viewers to clear the safety buffer, saying, "The drone show will fly once the safety zone has been cleared of pedestrian traffic. Please stay close to Dupont."

Sadly, the next message from organizers was the cancellation of the show, saying, "To comply with Transport Canada regulations the drone show was grounded due to an encroachment of the safety zone."

An official statement followed, explaining, "Due to safety concerns from Transport Canada, sadly tonight's drone show could not fly. Celebrate Toronto appreciates all the support from our community and looks forward to rescheduling tonight's event."

blogTO's Briana-Lynn Brieiro was on the scene interviewing frustrated attendees as the wait dragged on, with many gathered in the cold wondering when the show would begin.

After an hour of live streaming and waiting, Brieiro and the surrounding crowd learned of the cancellation, leaving the assembled masses confused and disappointed.

Drone show company Illumin issued a statement on the cancelled event, saying, "It was incredible to see such a large crowd come out to see Toronto's 190th birthday celebration." 

"We worked tirelessly for weeks to design the drone show. The drones were lit and ready to fly at 8 p.m.. Unfortunately, due to concerns over public safety and in compliance with regulatory requirements, we made the difficult decision to cancel the drone show."

"Public safety and following regulatory requirements are the #1 priority for Illumin Drone Shows. It will always be this way. We are accountable to the public who view our shows and to Transport Canada as the Regulator."

"We were crushed to have to cancel the drone show, particularly given the overwhelming public response. We added resources and brought in extra support."

"In the end, despite extensive efforts to clear the safety buffer of all pedestrians and curious onlookers, we made the very difficult decision to cancel what should have been a landmark event in our city. We completely understand and share the disappointment of those who came out to see the show."

It's not the first time people have been let down by a much-hyped drone show in Toronto.

A planned 2017 drone show was scrapped due to high winds, one of a handful of cancellations due to weather in recent years. Attempts to wow the public in 2023 resulted in similar disappointment, including a July drone show that was rescheduled to Labour Day due to thunderstorms, and a lacklustre show in August that left viewers confused and frustrated.

Attendees say Toronto's big drone display turned out to be a confusing mess https://t.co/PSuHiUMv1j #Toronto

— blogTO (@blogTO) August 8, 2023

Wednesday evening's scrapped drone show was to be the precursor to a free fireworks display at City Hall, which is still planned to go forward on March 9 at 9 p.m.