Dasara festival 2026: Mysuru's 3,473-drone peacock sets Guinness record

A drone show at the Dasara festival 2026 in Mysuru has entered the Guinness World Records. On the night of Sunday, October 18, 2026, 3,473 drones rose over the Torchlight Parade Ground at Bannimantap and formed a peacock, India's national bird. Guinness officials who had flown in from London checked the display and certified it as the largest aerial display of a bird formed by drones. They handed the certificate to L. Lokesh, technical director of the Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation (CESC), the state power utility that organises the show, and his team. The drones were flown by BotLab Dynamics, a Delhi-based company incubated at IIT Delhi.

Mysuru Dasara is one of Karnataka's best-known festivals. Its rituals centre on Goddess Chamundeshwari, the presiding deity of the Chamundi Hills above the city, and it ends with the Jamboo Savari, the elephant procession that carries her idol through the city in the golden howdah. The drone show is a recent addition to this programme. It does not replace any ritual; it is an evening attraction staged by the state power utility, the same body that lights up the city's roads, circles and heritage buildings for the festival.

The choice of images is what ties the technology to the tradition. Of the 12 formations reported on Sunday, several came straight from the festival's own symbols: the goddess at its heart, Nandi, the bull associated with Shiva, and the golden Ambari that the lead elephant carries in the procession. The peacock, the record-setter, is the national bird. Last year's record image, the tiger, is the national animal. The organisers have, in effect, used the night sky as a new canvas for familiar cultural images.

A Guinness record also brings outside attention. Mysuru depends heavily on Dasara visitors, and a certified "world first" gives the festival a fresh story for travellers and for social media. Thousands of spectators watched the shows at Bannimantap, and one local report put Sunday's audience at more than 25,000.

There are honest limits to what the record proves. Guinness records are narrow categories: this one is specifically for a bird formed by drones, not for the largest drone show of any kind. Some details in the wider coverage, such as the jump in footfall, come from the drone company's own press release and have not been independently checked, so they are left out here.

Short-term: The record adds to the crowd interest in the last days of Mysuru Dasara, which closes with the Jamboo Savari procession. It also brings national attention to a festival evening that is run by a public electricity company rather than a cultural body.

Long-term: Two records in two years suggest the drone show is becoming a fixed part of the Dasara calendar. Festivals elsewhere in India may copy the idea of using drones to draw temple, deity and heritage images, which could make such shows a regular way of presenting tradition to younger audiences.

Who is affected: Visitors and residents of Mysuru, who get a new evening event; CESC and the Karnataka government, which organise and fund the festival's lighting; BotLab Dynamics and India's drone industry, which gain a showcase; and local hotels, transport and traders, who depend on festival crowds.

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