First mass ascent of Bristol Balloon Fiesta 2024 on Friday cancelled

The first mass ascent of Bristol International Balloon Fiesta 2024 has been cancelled.

It is the first day of the fiesta and hundreds of people have made their way to Ashton Court in the hope of watching a mass take-off of Bristol balloons.

The fiesta is a world-famous event, attracting balloon enthusiasts from across the world.

Mass ascents are planned for 6am and 6pm each day for the duration of the fiesta - which is running for three days from Friday 9 August to Sunday 11 August this year.

But the weather conditions must be just right for hot air balloons to fly - including low wind.

The decision on whether it's safe is made by the fiesta's specialist flight team at 6am and 7pm each day and is announced in the arena with a puff of either green smoke - for go - or red smoke if the conditions are too unsafe to fly.

Today, fiesta-goers were disappointed when they saw the red smoke cannon set off in the main arena.

In a post on Facebook, orgnaisers said it was too windy for the balloons to fly.

"Pilot's briefing has just concluded that unfortunately it is not safe to free fly this morning, the wind is simply too fast for these beautiful beasts," they said.

"The good news is our weather charts are showing much calmer winds at ground and at height coming through over the weekend."