Against all the odds, the 29th International Balloon Fiesta took place as scheduled at Ashton Court in North Somerset, just outside Bristol.
Only three weeks earlier the Ashton Court (music) Festival had had to be abandoned as the ground turned to a quagmire as a result of the rains that flooded Gloucestershire, only 30 miles to the North, and with a foot-and-mouth outbreak imperilling the agricultural community that surrounds the estate and therefore the balloonists potential landing sites (in the event of an outbreak in the area, farmland is quarantined), it had been uncertain even the day before the festival whether it would take place at all.
Given that the balloons cannot fly safely in winds in excess of 15mph, or in rain (it weighs down the material), nor indeed in the fog that threatened the Saturday morning mass ascent, since balloonists need to have clear sight of where they are going to land, the event has always been a lottery, and some years there have been no mass flights at all over the weekend. Nonetheless, it is one that hundreds of thousands of people are willing to get up early for, as they arrive at the 850-acre estate before 6am each day for three days, as well as in the evenings, and the night-glow on the Thursday evening, when the balloons are tethered, but use their burners to light up the night sky.
The Bristol Balloon Fiesta has been running on the second weekend in August since 1979, and while only a fraction of the size of the festival in Albuquerque, New Mexico, is the largest Fiesta in Europe – indeed anywhere in the world outside the USA. Up to two hundred balloonists come from dozens of countries to participate in the ascents.
The event is organized by the Bristol Chamber of Commerce which has run it since its inception, with the support of Cameron Balloons, who – together with Thunder & Colt – are amongst the largest balloon manufacturers in the world.
The balloons are primarily the standard spherical hot-air balloons such as the Nokia (pictured), but one of the main attractions to the Fiesta is the sight of the special shapes that Cameron Balloons specialize in, such as the Monster balloon and the Chubb Fire Extinguisher balloon (both pictured). This has reflected a surge in interest from sponsors, who are queuing up to endorse balloons with their logos or eye-catching advertisements. Lingerie seems particularly fashionable at the moment.
Most balloons carry passengers in a large basket, but a few carry only their pilots, either in a small chair or in the case of the second Ikea balloon, in an armchair!
As well as the mass ascent, there are also competitions for pilots to drop their markers near to a target and win a £4000 (US$8000) watch, and the hare-and-hounds, whereby the winner lands as close to the ‘hare’ balloon as possible.
With any luck, there will be fewer scares for the 30th Fiesta, in August 2008.
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