Organisers of the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta officially launched their 2025 event with media invited to the home of Bristol ballooning, the Cameron Balloons factory in Bedminster, to get a taste of what is in store.
Among those involved with the launch was Robin Clempson, marketing director of the South West accountancy firm, Albert Goodman. The business has been named the Balloon Fiesta’s official headline sponsor for the next three years, providing what organisers say will be ‘crucial financial support’ for the event.
This will be the first headline partnership in almost 10 years for the Fiesta. Mr Clempson said: “We wanted to support a really iconic Bristol event and we see the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta as being probably the iconic Bristol event. It’s so heavily associated with Bristol.
“Our sponsorship will keep it free for the people of Bristol and the wider region for the next three years. Also, the Fiesta does so much for the local economy – over a £20million boost for the Bristol economy – so it just felt like a really good fit for us as a business.
“We’re really looking forward to bringing all of our people – we have 350 people across the South West – all coming up to the Bristol Balloon Fiesta for our annual company away trip on August 8. We’ve got some balloon flights in store, we’ll be doing some raffles for our charity and our clients as well.”
Organisers recently confirmed that the strategic changes introduced at last year’s Fiesta – including cutting it down from four days to three – have proved effective in reducing the event’s in-year deficit by approximately £80,000. They say that, while the Fiesta continues to operate at a loss, this is now “significantly smaller”, and organisers are optimistic that the event could break even this year, which would then enable them to start to build reserves. This, they say, would put them in the best position should any unexpected challenges arise in the future.
Another massive factor in the Fiesta’s future is educating the people of Bristol and the wider region about all things ballooning. Speaking with BristolLive from inside the iconic Up hot air balloon, the Fiesta’s executive director, Ben Hardy, said: “We obviously had a great Fiesta last year and we’re remaining with three days.
“We’ll have mass ascents Friday, Saturday and Sunday – morning and afternoon. There will be two night glows – on Friday and Saturday evening. Lots of the stuff we introduced last year is back, including the Pasture restaurant, Meet The Pilot in the arena – which gives families the opportunity to come into the arena, get into baskets, and have a go on the burners.
“But we’ve also introduced a few new things, and the reason why we’re in a balloon today is we’re introducing ‘In The Clouds’ this year. This is an immersive experience where you’ll be able to come inside a hot air balloon, actually have a wander round one of these amazing flying machines from inside, rather than outside, which is what everyone is normally used to. And this will happen all afternoon, and isn’t dependent on the weather, so it’s a really fantastic new opportunity this year.
“I think sometimes ballooning is a little bit misunderstood – why we’re flying, why we’re not flying is always a question that’s asked. So we wanted to start really educating everyone on how this all works and why it works the way it does.
“So on top of Meet The Pilot and In The Clouds, we’re also going to start a Schools Tether Roadshow this year, which is a development of our community programme. We’re going to go to schools and show them how these amazing machines work.”
The countdown to the 2025 Bristol International Balloon Fiesta is now on. This year’s event will take place at Ashton Court Estate between Friday, August 8, to Sunday, August 10. Stay tuned to coverage from BristolLive for more announcements still to come.