Ashton Court, Bristol, United Kingdom, 9-11 August 2024
Report by Colin Coulthard
The Bristol International Balloon Fiesta is a long established event running over a long weekend on the Ashton Court Public Estate. Hence admission is free with parking the only expense. It has grown over more than forty years; now encompassing fairgrounds and extensive on-site catering. As the need for still air for hot-air ballooning the main launches are early morning and evening with miscellaneous activities during the day. After dark a tethered ‘night glow’ adds to the spectacle. Depending on the wind direction sometimes over a hundred balloons can be seen drifting over the City or across the nearby Bristol Channel.
Welcome to the 46th Bristol Balloon Fiesta.
This is an event organised by nine trustee volunteers whose aim is to provide a spectacular free to enter event and they have succeeded since 1979. This year the event took part over three days, Friday, Saturday and Sunday 9-11 Aug.
The main ballooning event is the mass balloon launch that takes place each morning (6:00 am) and evening (6:00pm) and on Friday and Saturday night a Nightglow (9:00pm). The mass balloon launch has had up to 140 balloons depart from the arena. This year there were 50-60 ballons launches on Saturday and Sunday.
Ballooning is a very weather dependent activity, particularly subject to the wind. Friday was a pleasant day, but the breeze was too strong to allow the balloons to inflate for the mass launch, but the breeze died down for the Nightglow.
The nightglow consisted of 15-20 balloons inflated and tethered in the arena as the sun went down. Then just after 9:00pm the speakers come alive with BBC Bristol’s music for the event and balloon pilots ignited their burners in time with the music, which resulted in a very enjoyable evening for all those present.
The light breeze continued for most of the weekend and the mass launches went ahead and just after 6:00am Saturday we were greeted with green smoke from Smoky Sam to tell the pilots they were clear to launch. 53 balloons launched and disappeared over the trees to the NE and into the grey skies.
The weather improved during the day and Saturday evening produced the perfect ballooning weather, blue skies, a few clouds and a gentle breeze to carry the balloons over the City of Bristol. 61 balloons lifted and slowly drifted to the NE with the first balloons still visible in the distance as the last balloons lifted.
Sunday dawned with grey skies again but this time the wind carried the balloons southwards towards Bristol Airport, so the instruction to the pilots were low and slow. As the green smoke floated straight up the balloons inflated and rose straight up following the smoke. As the balloons cleared the crown of the other balloons, they picked up the slight breeze and drifted off to the south. The pilots took low literally and the balloons drifted a few inches above the grass, lifting to clear the tree before dropping down on the other side and out of sight.
A special event occurred at the end of the launch and something I have never see in 40 years of attending ballooning events. As the last balloon departed to the south three ballons appeared over the trees to the NE, the baskets drifted though the branches of the trees and gently touched in the arena. These balloons were some of the first to leave and the pilots used the changing wind directions and navigated the balloons back around the site to land back where they had departed.
