Europe’s largest annual meeting of hot air balloons is back in 2023
The Bristol International Balloon Fiesta is back at its usual home of Ashton Court Estate come August 2023. The annual event, first held in 1979, involves teams from around the UK participating in a mass ascent that can sometimes involve over 100 balloons at a time.
From this small beginning, the Fiesta has grown year after year, flourishing into what has become Europe's largest annual hot air balloon festival.
Today, the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta attracts over 100 Hot Air Balloons and 500,000 visitors over the four days of the event. The Fiesta has become as much of an icon for Bristol as Brunel, Wallace and Gromit or Concorde.
The fiesta is a charity, run by a committee and remains free of charge to the public, in line with the ethos of how it was founded. It is supported by kind partners including Costa Coffee who help us to continue to deliver this iconic event.