The announcement that tickets for the car parking, shuttle bus and the 'Sky Lounge' section of this year's Bristol International Balloon Fiesta has been made, signalling that summer is just around the corner.
This year's Balloon Fiesta will be the 45th anniversary, and organisers will be hoping for weather like this Bank Holiday Weekend's to be replicated in the second week of August. Last year's festival was the first to be badly-hit by global warming and climate change - instead of wind and rain stopping the balloons from flying, the intense heat of August's record-breaking heatwave grounded balloons each evening and made for an uncomfortable, scorching fiesta weekend.
This year is the fiesta's 45th anniversary, and will take place again at Ashton Court from Thursday, August 10 through to Sunday, August 13. The keener among the nation's ballooning fans will be snapping up tickets to the car park, or shuttle buses in advance - in previous years they have sold out in advance for the more popular times.
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Car parking tickets vary in price between £15 and £30 a day depending on which car park you opt for, and how far in advance you buy your ticket, but the important message from festival organisers is that all car parking tickets have to be bought in advance, and no driver can pay to park up on the gate.
Tickets for the shuttle buses which run from Temple Meads station and the Bristol Bus and Coach Station to Ashton Court and back are also on sale. The buses start running from around 10am each morning, later on Thursday morning. There will be two nightglows this year - on the Thursday evening and the Saturday evening - and the return shuttle buses will continue running until 11.30pm on both of those nights. The price of a shuttle bus trip is £5, and children under 16 travel free as long as they are accompanied by an adult, with a maximum of two children per adult. There is a group day ticket option, which is £15 for up to five people.
And tickets for the VIP area at the balloon fiesta site, the Sky Lounge, are also available. A spokesperson for the fiesta said: "Allowing for those up-close-and-personal views of the main arena and providing the ultimate spot to watch the mass ascents, the Sky Lounge is perfect for anyone wanting to witness the magic away from the mass crowds. Sky Lounge ticket holders will gaze at the mass ascents at both 6am and 6pm." Tickets for the Sky Lounge access vary in price depending on which day or evening, and range from around £22 to £33.
Balloon fiesta founder Don Cameron, who will have just celebrated his 84th birthday before the event, said they had lots planned for this year's 45th fiesta. “We’re celebrating another year of the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta and are delighted to be back at our home grounds of Ashton Court once again," he said. "It’s a difficult time for a lot of people and it’s more important than ever to give the communities of Bristol a fantastic fiesta that’s free for everyone to attend. We’ve got all pilots crossing their fingers for blue skies and light winds as we set off to the skies," he added.
Read more:
- Too dangerous to fly balloons in this heat, says 2022 festival director
- Bristol International Balloon Fiesta has wowed Bristol Bears players from overseas
- Arctic Monkeys at Ashton Gate - timings, travel, food and drink, everything you need to know
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