Oh... My... SMURF!

Organisers are excited to confirm that a smurftastic special shape has flown in from Belgium to appear at the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta, taking to the skies from 7-10th August.

Next week, Bristol is playing host to Europe’s largest ballooning event, an amazing spectacle and FREE event for the whole family where 150 hot air balloons will take off from Ashton Court Estate, lighting up the skies in the morning and at night.

The Smurf balloon recently flew in from Belgium and underwent a facelift at the Bedminster factory, as Cameron Balloons prepared him for a wrinkle-free flight at the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta. He will make his appearance alongside other Fiesta special shapes like the Paddy Power Pants and the William Hill Scottish Cup, who will reveal themselves on Thursday 7^th August at 6pm alongside the first Fiesta ascent.

Koen Audenaert, a representative of Cameron Balloons in Belgium, says:

‘Smurf is a fantastic shape to fly. He makes people all around the world so incredibly happy, and is one of the few characters that is really well-known all over the world.  The first one was built in 1988, when the Smurfs celebrated their 30th anniversary; the 2nd was built for the 40th anniversary in 1998. In 2008, we started operating a 4-seater airship for the Smurfs.  Cameron Balloons have now rebuilt the 2nd Smurf balloon, who is out of surgery and ready to do his first Bristol flight.’

Last year saw Stuart the Minion raise his inflatable yellow body at the Fiesta, encouraging audiences to #SpotStuart throughout their stay. This year, visitors can join the #BalloonFiesta action on Twitter, sending in their smurfiest photos to the official fiesta account, @BristolBalloon, who will retweet their favourites.  

In addition to the eye-catching new shape, the Fiesta will be showcasing its traditional range of family entertainment including aerial displays, fairground rides, food and drink stalls, face painting and acoustic music areas as well as the famous nightglow and fireworks display. To find out more about this year’s festival, please visit http://www.bristolballoonfiesta.co.uk or like https://www.facebook.com/bristolinternationalballoonfiesta.