Up, Up and Away: Bristol International Balloon Fiesta Returns

The sky is the limit this summer as the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta returns to the South West for its 41st year from Thursday 8 – Sunday 11 August.

Capturing the essence of its Bristol birthplace, the Fiesta will once again attract hundreds of thousands of visitors to the grounds of Ashton Court Estate, to witness one of the most stunning sights in the UK.

This year, the Fiesta will be celebrating Icons of Bristol and look to highlight some of the things that make up the spectacular home of the International Balloon Fiesta. The iconic event has joined forces with Aerospace Bristol to honour one of the city’s most famed creations, Concorde and Aardman Animations who are celebrating the 30th anniversary of Wallace and Gromit.

Over the course of four days, the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta will play host to more than 100 colourful hot air balloons of all sizes and shapes. Special shapes are an iconic part of the Fiesta and the event kicks off with its now traditional special shapes launch on Thursday evening.

Early mornings at the Fiesta are a truly spectacular sight with mass ascents taking place from 6am on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. These truly magical moments will see over 130 hot air balloons from across the globe take to the skies of Bristol.

When darkness falls at the Fiesta on Thursday, in partnership with Airbus, and on Saturday, the stage is set for the world-famous nightglow. Spectators can watch as the balloons return to the launch field, only rather than fly away, they remain fully inflated and tethered, illuminating the nights sky to a brand new specially commissioned soundtrack to celebrate icons of Bristol in partnership with BBC Radio Bristol, before closing with a spectacular firework finale.

For 2019, organisers are calling on the people of Bristol to help bring an incredible special shaped hot air balloon home to fly over the city for the very first time. The Darth Vader hot air balloon was built in Bristol by Cameron Balloons but has never flown in the city despite appearing around the world in the likes of Australia, the United States, China and Malaysia.

The crowd funding campaign, run by Fundsurfer aims to raise £10,000 in an all-or-nothing project while offering an incredible list of rewards to befit this unique and much-loved event including hot air balloon flights, a Night Glow crew experience, VIP access to hospitality areas and the arena, access to the arena for selfie opportunities with the Darth Vader balloon, brewery tours, balloon-themed products and limited edition works of art.

The crowdfunding campaign will run until Friday 2 August via www.fundsurfer.com/crowdfund/bristolinternationalballoonfiesta.

The 2019 event will be supporting local charity, St Peter’s Hospice for the second year running. The charity cares for adults with life-limiting illnesses and aims to improve the quality of living and dying while extending care and support to families and loved ones. All of the care is providing free of charge but costs around £21,000 a day to deliver which is raised through gifts in wills, donations, shops and fundraising at events like the Fiesta. 

The Bristol International Balloon Fiesta is now firmly established as Europe’s largest annual hot air balloon festival and one of the UK’s top 5 outdoor events. The iconic images of Bristol and balloons have become synonymous with the city and are seen around the World.

With the growth of the Fiesta, there has been an increase in the number of activities available to the public and it continues to provide a fun, free, family day out for all involved. As well as the balloon ascents, there is entertainment for all throughout the day, including aerial displays, children’s activities and entertainment, fairground rides, delicious food stalls and bars, balloon tethering and demonstrations, model aircraft displays and a local music stage.

There are many public transport options including shuttle buses to the site but for visitors planning on driving to the event, car parking will only be available in advance.

To book car parking tickets please visit http://www.bristolballoonfiesta.co.uk or to find out more about this year’s event follow @BristolBalloon on Instagram and Twitter, or https://www.facebook.com/bristolinternationalballoonfiesta.