Türkiye’s Largest Drone Show: 2,500 Drones for AK Parti’s 25th Anniversary
On 14 August 2026, 2,500 drones took to the sky above Ankara for AK Parti’s 25th anniversary programme at Başkent Millet Bahçesi.k
The event was attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and formed part of a large-scale anniversary production combining live stage content, film, music and aerial elements. Ahead of the event, organisers announced approximately 100,000 invitations, with the programme also open to the public.
For SKD, the brief went beyond creating a standalone drone light show. The aerial production was designed as part of the wider live programme, with formations choreographed to progress in synchronisation with the stage production below.
2,500 drones over Ankara
With 2,500 aircraft in the sky simultaneously, the production became the largest drone show staged in Türkiye to date.
At this scale, the number of drones is only one part of the project. Creative development, animation, programming, flight planning and on-site operations all have to function as one system.
SKD delivered the drone production from creative and programming through to flight operations and on-site execution.
The result was a sequence of large-format aerial formations developed specifically for the anniversary programme. Contemporary reports documented imagery referencing the programme’s 25-year narrative, including symbols and visual compositions that continued elements introduced in the main film and stage production.
Designed to work with the live production
One of the defining elements of the project was the relationship between the sky and the stage.
Drone shows are often produced as independent moments within an event. For this production, the aerial choreography was instead built to move with the live programme behind it.
Timing therefore became part of the creative process from the beginning. Formations, transitions and sequences had to work not only visually in the sky, but within the timing and narrative of the overall production.
This kind of integration changes the role of a drone show. Rather than functioning simply as an additional entertainment element, the drones become another production layer alongside lighting, screens, music, film and stage content.
From creative concept to flight operations
Producing a 2,500-drone show requires considerably more than increasing the size of a smaller formation.
Every additional aircraft affects the physical footprint of the operation, animation planning, flight paths, deployment and recovery, site logistics and the coordination required on the ground.
For SKD, the Ankara production brought these disciplines together within one delivery: creative development, drone animation, programming, technical preparation, flight operations and on-site execution.
The scale also allowed formations to be developed with greater visual density and presence, making them legible across a large event site and to an audience spread over a substantial viewing area.
A new benchmark for drone shows in Türkiye
SKD has been producing drone shows in Türkiye and internationally since 2017, across government events, national celebrations, global brands, television productions and private occasions.
The Ankara production represents another development in what can now be delivered within Türkiye: not simply a larger fleet, but a drone show integrated into a complex live production and designed from the outset as part of the overall event.
2,500 drones. One coordinated live production. Delivered in Ankara for AK Parti’s 25th anniversary.
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