Olivia PowellOn 3 August, Bristol’s first Balloon Fiesta Flypast took place, seeing the skies above the city filled with hot air balloons.
The flypast took place as the annual Bristol International Balloon Fiesta could not take place. The event usually attracts around 500,000 visitors, but due to social distancing guidelines, it could not be held this year.
In order to maintain social distancing, organisers kept the location of the launch “top secret”, and instead told fans of the fiesta to watch from their homes.
Operations Director Ben Hardy said: “We are bringing the balloon fiesta to everyone’s doorstep. Under top secret guise we’re launching balloons to sort of say ‘hello Bristol’ and lift the city’s spirits a little bit.
“It’s a magnificent sight. They are all local pilots and they all wanted to come together to at least mark this year’s event for us.
“We’re asking Bristol to go on their doorstep or into their back garden and hopefully see this magnificent sight that they are so used to but sadly we can’t bring in its full glory.”
The flypast allowed those in Britsol to watch 43 balloons float over the city from a safe distance.
A virtual nightglow, a performance where tethered balloons light their burners in time to music, will take place at a private location and will be available to watch online on 8 August.