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Haunting Titanic tribute made of 950 drones sails through Belfast harbor – but it was kept secret from the public
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A recent recreation of the Titanic, leaving Belfast, where it was built, and heading for Southampton (where it would set out on its ill-fated maiden voyage) was not publicized in advance for “safety concerns.”
The display, made up of 950 drones, was not promoted to the wider public of Belfast before it took place, even though it was a powerful tribute, highlighted around the world, and described as “hauntingly beautiful”.
A powerful tribute to the Titanic – YouTube
It took place on April 2, at 8pm, 114 years after the ship itself left the dock in Belfast which is now home to the Titanic Museum.
It featured drones hovering near the surface of the water, turning on their lights, then rising up to form the shape of the RMS Titanic, at 1:1 scale, hence many seeing it as a “Ghost Ship.”
The original Titanic, which sank on the morning of April 15, 1912, after hitting an iceberg at 23:40 ship’s time, April 14, 1912, resulting in the deaths of 1,635 passengers and crew. The incident, one of the most deadly in peacetime, has been the subject of films including A Night to Remember and Titanic.
Just 710 people survived the sinking of what was, at the time, the largest and most luxurious ship ever built, 882.75 feet (269 metres) long.
The display was made to highlight the BBC’s four-part factual series, filmed and produced in Northern Ireland, Titanic Sinks Tonight, part of the BBC’s wider ‘Made of Here‘ series.
The series was originally aired in December and has since become one of the most popular shows on the BBC’s streaming app ‘iPlayer’, and incidentally, the song used in the clip publicising the moment on TikTok was Nearer My God to Thee, the haunting music from A Night to Remember.
The full show tells the story – in docu-drama form – of the construction of the ship, the hitting of the iceberg, to the moment it sank forever, from the details of people’s memories and public enquiries.
If you’re interested in picking up one of the best camera drones yourself, look out for our guide, or the best beginner drone.
