Challenge

In November 2024, Toronto hosted six sold-out Taylor Swift concerts at Rogers Centre, drawing record crowds into the downtown core. More than 300,000 fans attended the shows, with tens of thousands more gathering outside the venue and across nearby areas. Hotel occupancy and transit usage surged to their highest levels since before the pandemic, turning the waterfront district into one of the busiest zones in the country that week. This sudden concentration of people created new challenges for crowd control, traffic coordination, and aerial security as recreational drones became a growing concern near large gatherings.

Solution

AirMatrix deployed its Libra system in partnership with Toronto Police Service and Bell Communications. The platform integrated live feeds from drones and ground-based cameras into one unified command layer. Libra provided real time vehicle detection, congestion analysis, and aerial monitoring, allowing authorities to maintain situational awareness over both ground and airspace. Security teams received automatic alerts for unauthorized drones, while traffic management units coordinated responses across the city through a single operational view.

"Large crowds gathering always pose a significant threat when people fly drones where they are not supposed to. AirMatrix provides the authorities with a complete aerial view of their airspace so that drone flying does not cause a security situation." 
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Bashir Khan, CEO AirMatrix                                                                                                                    

Results

• Increased detection accuracy from 64 % to 93 %, enabling confident traffic interventions.
• Reduced response time for traffic congestion and aerial threat alerts by over 70 %.
• Enabled real-time coordination between TPS and city traffic units through Libra’s shared dashboard.
• Contributed to uninterrupted traffic flow and zero recorded drone-related incidents throughout the concert series.

Looking forward

As cities prepare for global events like FIFA 2026, the need for unified air and ground awareness will only grow. Libra equips authorities with real-time control, faster coordination, and proven reliability for large-scale operations. AirMatrix is working with partners across Canada to help cities strengthen their readiness and secure their airspace with confidence.