The sky is filled with beautiful flickering lights and shapes, and the crowd marvel at the wonderful spectacle above them. It’s quite an event, but to top that it’s free.
The Bristol Balloon Fiesta is held every year and is famed for the pretty Night Glows. They are the most popular parts of the four-day festival and quite a sight to see. The pilots create a variety of dazzling effects using ‘flicker’, ‘burn’ and ‘flash’ commands which are set to music. The array of sequences is choreographed very well and followed by a dramatic finale in the form of a colourful firework display that leaves even the most mature looking up in delight. It’s a night to remember!
The history of the fiesta starts in September 1978 with Don Cameron of Cameron Balloons. He decided to create an event for balloonists and set about his task with great enthusiasm. Local firms sponsored balloons and were even allowed on board to help out.
The first fiesta was a small gathering of balloonists from Ireland, England, Germany and Luxembourg who came together at Ashton Court to display their balloons.
Spectators witnessed a mass ascent of 27 balloons and enjoyed the weekend-long display of flying. The success of this weekend led to the event becoming an annual fixture in the calendar of Bristolians and balloonists alike.
The International Balloon Fiesta is Europe’s largest ballooning event and regularly draws over 100 balloons and crowds in their hundreds of thousands.
Good vantage points are at a premium so try and get there early!
The event is held during August over a long weekend. Ashton Court opens on the Thursday and you can see a free pop concert and various stalls. The first Night Glow is one of the Fiesta’s biggest attractions and thousands of people travel to see it. The next night glow is held on the Saturday.
The fancy shaped balloons are also launched on the Thursday at about 6pm. You can see all sorts of crazy shapes from lighthouses to houses.
Mass ascents happen between 6am and 6pm on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Over 100 balloons take off in less than half an hour. Many of them take part in a ‘hunt’ across the sky for the so-called ‘hare’ (a balloon that takes off ahead of the rest and is then pursued by the rest who are known as the ‘hounds’).
Bristol International Balloon Festival is a great spectacle to see and definitely worth going to Bristol for.
This year’s fiesta will be 12th – 15th August. If you have a bit of time, try combining a visit to Bristol with a few days in North Wiltshire, perhaps to see Malmesbury, Lacock or Chippenham, or maybe visit Bath, which is only a few miles away from Bristol and full of interesting things to do.
Most importantly, don’t forget to sort your places to stay in Bristol as early as possible as the festival is very popular and so hotels and B&B’s book up very quickly.
Getting a guide to Bristol is also a good idea if you are planning on staying on in the city for a few days afterwards.