Get ready to elevate your spirits and let your imaginations take flight as the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta announces the awe-inspiring, and nostalgic line-up of special shape hot air balloons due to make an appearance at this year’s event.
Bristol’s iconic Fiesta will return to the rolling hills of Ashton Court Estate from Friday 9th to Sunday 11th August, and this year the main arena will host at least 14 of the hugely popular and unique special shape hot air balloons.
The star-studded line-up will this year feature beloved classics, as well as recent favourites, including:
Astro the Alien: His Glorious Divine Benevolence, The Leader, will add to the sky-high excitement as he takes flight over all the tiny human visitors. Look out for his twinning ‘Alien Probe’ hot air balloon and accompanying ground dance troupe. Astro is piloted by Bristol-balloonist Lee Hooper and the team at Spirit Balloons.
Wallace & Gromit’s Moon Rocket: Yes, you guessed it, Aardman’s iconic duo will take flight in a hot air balloon replica of the famous moon rocket from A Grand Day Out. This Bristol icon is operated by Exclusive Ballooning on behalf of The Grand Appeal, the dedicated charity for Bristol Children’s Hospital.
Daisy The Cow: This farmyard favourite is a hopper, a one-person hot air ballon owned and flown by Simon Church and built by Cameron Balloons. The eye-catching design is hard to miss, and rather appropriately the balloons registration is G-CMOO.
The Scottish Piper: ‘Pipy’ was originally purely built for fun and to put a smile on people’s faces, and boy has he done that. Built for Muir Moffat, who also owned the Jaguar car, Pipy features his family’s tartan and stands at 156ft tall. When inflated he is regularly accompanied by a live bagpipe performance. This year he’ll be brought to the Fiesta with the help of Ian Martin, from Flying Enterprises who also co-ordinates the Fiesta’s iconic Nightglows.
Maxwell House Coffee Jar: The Fiesta weekend has to be the one time of year we’re all ready to wake up and smell the coffee before 6am. This year, thanks to MJ Ballooning this retro replica coffee jar will be taking to the skies over the city once again, the first time since 1995.
Orange: Ingeniously designed to resemble an orange slice, the orange was originally built by Camerons Balloons in 1993 for an Italian orange company before making its way back to the UK. In 2022 it was the third balloon to be added to MJ Ballooning’s fleet.
Roziere: The Roziere was specially built for “The Big Number Change” TV commercial, when in 2000 telecoms companies joined forces to reorganise the telephone system. Since that shoot the balloon has been stored at Cameron Balloons and taken on this year for tether displays by Bristol Balloon Collectors and MJ Ballooning. This is the unique shapes first major event appearance.
Action Man: Action Man is regarded as one of the greatest special shapes ever built, operated by the Virgin Airship & Balloon Company in the 1990s. He used to release real orange tinted smoke from the canisters on take-off. While this balloon has now retired from flying, he has now joined the MJ Ballooning fleet for his final special mission in his home city.
Rupert The Bear: One of the most iconic, popular balloons to ever attend the Bristol Balloon Fiesta. He was a regular feature in the early 90s and has more recently been brought out of retirement by Bristol Balloon Collectors to return to the 2024 Fiesta.
Thomas the Tank Engine: Bristol Balloon Collectors will bring the huge Thomas the Tank Engine balloon to tether in the arena. Built by Cameron Balloons, this iconic favourite first flew in 1998, flying at the Fiesta in its debut year.
Lloyds TSB: Lloyds TSB have had a long association with hot air ballooning, dating back to 1988. After Lloyd’s merged with the old Post Office owned Trustee Savings Bank in the late 1990s, two new balloons were commissioned, including their first and only special shape. The balloon is now under the care of Bristol Balloon Collectors, who will display it at this year’s Fiesta.
Michelin Man: Three Michelin Man special shapes were built by Cameron Balloons in 1997. The characters known as Bibendum for tyre manufacturing company, Michelin were incredibly popular with the public. This year one of the collection will grace the arena, thanks to Bristol Balloon Collectors.
Buster & Bella the Bulldogs: The duo, flown by Lighter Than Air’s Paul Burrows, have become firm Fiesta favourites in recent years. Designed and built in the UK in 2018, this slobbering duo have travelled all over the world, making their way back to Bristol in time for the Fiesta.
The iconic Bristol International Balloon Fiesta is a free-to-attend, three-day event that celebrates the city and its heritage links to the remarkable world of hot air ballooning.
For the 9-11 August, the rolling hills of Ashton Court on the outskirts of the city of Bristol are home to a temporary playground of entertainment, and a stage set ready and waiting for over 100 hot air balloons to take flight.
At the heart of the experience of this unique event, is a game of chance – will these feats of engineering take flight.
When weather conditions allow for a mass ascent, visitors witness a spectacle like no other.
From Friday to Sunday the compact central arena becomes awash with a rainbow of colour at dawn, approximately 6am, and just before dusk, approximately 6pm, to mark the closing of the day and start the evening celebrations.
On Friday and Saturday, visitors can stay beyond nightfall to experience the event’s infamous Night Glows. After dark, dozens of hot air balloons inflate, and use their burners to glow in time to a soundtrack of inspiring music to bring the party atmosphere and bring the crowd of spectators to their feet.
During the day, the event programme spans across acres of this countryside estate, offering entertainment, activities, food and drink, trade stands, and exhibitions.
This iconic event has been a steadfast in the UK’s event calendar for more than four decades. The city of Bristol plays the best matched host as the birthplace of ballooning in Europe, and now the capital of the sport worldwide.
For 2024, that will be made even more prominent as the event will host the British National Hot Air Balloon Championships.
The competition will see approximately 15 balloon teams compete twice daily, at dawn and dusk, taking off outside of the event with the aim of completing one of the competition tasks directly over the Fiesta.
While the event is free to attend, charges are applied to use the onsite car parks, and for visitors to enhance their experience through the event’s hospitality packages. For those planning to drive to the event, car parking tickets must be purchased in advance.
For more information visit www.bristolballoonfiesta.co.uk
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