The other week, I attended the Bristol Balloon Fiesta in England. It's the largest hot air balloon event in Europe and the second largest in the world after Albuquerque in America.
The site
The event is free, and each year around 300 to 500 thousand people attend over the three day fiesta. I went on a Saturday and it was packed with people. Some people came very early in the day. They bought picnic mats and chairs to grab a nice spot to see the hot air balloons ascent and other performances during the day.
We arrived around 4pm for the 6pm ascent and managed to find a spot in front of the center launch area where the balloons take off. Soon after, it was impossible to find a vacant dot of grass to sit on, and the late comers could only stand. By the evening the organisers were advising people not to come as the site was at full capacity with around 100 thousand people.
The fiesta is held in an 850 acre historic country park. I took us around 15 minutes just to walk from the carpark to the actual event area. The event area is over 100 acres, that's like 50 to 60 football pitches big. It included the central launch area, the viewing area around it, food stalls and entertainment area etc.
I wandered around the site. Everywhere was jam packed with people, including the toilets of course.
RAF Falcon
There were various other performances during the day before the main balloon ascent in the evening. This is the first time I've seen the RAF Falcon perform. They are the Royal Air Force parachute display team who jump from a plane and freefall up to 120mph (nearly 200 km/h) to perform various manoeuvres and display in the sky. Imagine you're floating in the sky, surrounded by the unpredictable British weather, a can of coloured smoke tied to your ankle, and you have to manoeuvre in position with the rest of your team, not too close, not too far away, to create these amazing displays in air.
Then you have to wait for your turn to land. Every member of the squad got a massive cheer from the crowd when they landed at the exact spot. Including the last and most senior member, the flight lieutenant, who also had a Union Jack strapped to his ankle, landed safely. It was one of the most thrilling performances I've seen in a long time.
Evening Ascent
I've been to the balloon fiesta quite a few times in the past and posted about my first visit in 2018 here. Since then I've been back a couple of times but unfortunately haven't been able to see the ascent. Hot air balloon is very weather dependent, and being by the sea adds another level of risk in case they get blown out and have no where to land. Normally, we won't know till the very last minute if the ascent will happen. There are two ascents each day during the festival, morning and evening. Morning is the best and has more balloons but it starts at 6 am which is way too early for me. Luckily this year, 5 out of the 6 ascents were successful, with just the very last one not being able to take off. That must have been so disappointing for the visitors as they now have to wait till next year before they can see it.
Back to the ascent. We got front row seats to see all the hot air balloons getting ready to take off. The launch area could easily fit 30 balloons at the same time and it got quite busy. In total 60 hot air balloons were due to ascend. Everybody was ecstatic when the first balloon finally took off, then gradually they all left one by one. Personally, I felt it wasn't as good as the first time I was here. Maybe the first time for everything is always the best. That said, it was still a freaking awesome experience. Here's a photo dump. Enjoy
Nightglow
The highlight of the event, and something that I've never done before is the 9pm nightglow. Most people leave after the 6pm evening ascent, as I have in previous years. This year I decided to go the whole hog and watch the nightglow.
24 hot air balloons are inflated and tied to the ground. Seeing so many massive hot air balloons inflated together was really impressive. Plus we were had a koala and a lion balloon right in front of us, providing a perfect photo opportunity.
The balloons are lit up in sync with the half an hour music program, like a hot air balloon concert. I didn't really know what to expect beforehand, but once the nightglow started, it was absolutely electrifying, with everyone joining in the massive dance party. It was definitely one of a kind unique experience and a great way to round off the day.
