DRIFT Opens Shakira's Record-Breaking Copacabana Show with 1,500-Drone Performance

Studio DRIFT opened Shakira's historic concert on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro with a 1,500-drone performance, marking the largest show of their career before a world-record audience of 2.5 million people. The performance began with DRIFT's artwork Franchise Freedom, conceived in 2008, which mimics starling murmurations and reacts to the crowd. This piece is considered the genesis work that launched the drone light industry. A giant wolf formation followed, inviting the audience to howl collectively at the full moon, which then brought Shakira on stage. The drones also formed Shakira's eyes, scanning the crowd as a pixelated screen, making personal eye contact with each attendee. DRIFT was founded in 2007 by Dutch artists Lonneke Gordijn (born 1980) and Ralph Nauta (born 1978). The multidisciplinary studio employs 45 people and creates experiential sculptures, installations, and performances that use technology to reveal nature's hidden phenomena and restore humanity's connection to the Earth.