Up, up and away

This summer sees the 35th annual Bristol International Balloon Fiesta and last night was the opening 'Night Glow', firework display and shaped/themed balloon ascent. It is a four day event featuring 150 hot air balloons along with a music stage for local bands, a funfair and the usual bars and hot food stalls and better still, it is free admission.

The 6pm ascent featured a number of sponsored balloons leading the way for the more peculiar offerings. My personal favourite is this 'Up' inspired balloon but there were a number of variations on the norm. A 'Minion' from Despicable Me, a weird looking princess that looked quite freaky as it loomed over the roof tops, a Panasonic battery, a copy of the FT and an Angry Bird stood out from the crowd. 

The highlight of the event for me will always be the 'Night Glow', and it seems I am not alone in this opinion. Thousands of people descended on Ashton Court to view this spectacular unofficial opening to the festival. Once we had negotiated our way through the crowds of people, stalls and fairground rides, we managed to get ourselves a decent vantage point overlooking one side of the 30 balloon formation. 

Heart FM provided the soundtrack to the show with what they had dubbed a celebration of Britain. Personally I am starting to find this a little tedious as it seems more about commercial gains and pacifying the masses than it does celebrating our country, also I am not entirely sure how Gangnam Style fitted in here, but hey ho. The announcer for the night was of course in the style of the big voice from the X Factor and had done a good job on brushing up on his Brizzle colloquialisms, referring to the crowd as his babbers etc. We also got treated to a 5ive megamix which was definitely a personal highlight.  

The evening came to a close with an excellent firework display to Coldplay's 'Every tear drop is a waterfall'. A series of very expensive and beautiful rockets ascended into the night sky, lighting up the crowds below that had come out to enjoy the spectacle. The whole thing came to a close at around 10pm and clearly delighted all that had attended, from the youngest viewers held aloft the dad's shoulders, to the groups that had brought the whole family along including grandparents. It is a real jewel in the crown of Bristol's amazing festival scene and the fact it didn't cost me a penny to see is fantastic. It runs right through this weekend to the 11th August with a second Night Glow on Saturday evening. I would thoroughly recommend getting yourself over to sample one of the West Country's highlights.