Bristol International Balloon Fiesta 2023: Saturday evening mass ascent cancelled

Hot air balloons will remain grounded at the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta this evening as pilots were not given the go ahead to take off, once again.

The balloons will have to remain tethered to the ground at Ashton Court Estate due to strong winds.

The Saturday morning ascent was cancelled, as hot air balloons were grounded because of the weather.

The bad weather also forced the temporary closure of Bristol Balloon Fiesta’s main arena earlier today to protect the condition of the ground for balloonists.

Organisers tweeted: "We're sorry to say that our mass ascent won't be taking place this evening. We have unstable weather conditions with and fast upper winds at 1,000 ft.

"It is unsafe for our balloonists to take to the skies. The nightglow is scheduled to light up the Fiesta at 9pm."

The festivals nightglow spectacle, that sees tethered balloons lit up to music, is still expected to take place.