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the international laser display association now runs a self-paced audience scanning safety course and requires irradiance measurements for award entries that expose humans to beams. scanning a crowd is the most beautiful and most dangerous thing a festival laser does, and the professional bar for doing it is now written down.

drone light shows are mainstreaming as fireworks replacements — las vegas rang in 2026 with 600 drones synced to pyro, and theme parks are switching permanently — but no major psy festival has flown one. between the open-air sites, the visual culture and the no-fireworks ethos of many gatherings, the first festival to do it well will own the moment.