Thursday 7th August – Sunday 10th August 2008 @ Ashton Court Estate

This year sees Bristol celebrate the 30th anniversary of the ever popular Bristol International Balloon Fiesta, a summer weekend which packs the sky above Bristol with a staggering array of colours and shapes. The event began at Ashton Court in 1979 with a crowd of a few thousand watching just 29 balloons and the fiesta now attracts crowds half a million strong who turn out to watch around 120 balloons which fly from 6am to 6pm over the weekend. The event also offers music, spectacular firework displays and an air show by The Red Arrows display team, The Flying Gunners. As well as your regular hot air balloons (an awesome sight in the daylight or during the beautiful glowing night show), the fiesta also showcases some of the more weird and wonderful offerings from the hot air balloon world - this year including balloons shaped like the Churchill dog and the kiwi bird!

Bristol International Balloon Fiesta is a free event and this year’s promises to be the biggest and best yet. Event director Susan Tanner said of the 2008 fiesta; “We are going to have even more arena events this year, both in the air and on the ground, to make it even more spectacular.”

Balloon Launches are 6am to 6pm on Friday Saturday and Sunday with a ‘Special Shapes’ launch and tether at 6pm on Thursday.
Fireworks displays on Thursday and Saturday at 9.30pm
The Red Arrows: The Flying Gunners display at 4pm on Sunday

www.bristolfiesta.co.uk

Natalie Burns