Bristol Balloon Fiesta chairman reflects the reality of putting on a free event
Bristol's International Balloon Fiesta is a free three-day event, but at what cost?
Chris Allcock has been chairman of the fiesta for four years, but been involved in one way or another for 40 years.
“It was originally set up by the chamber of commerce and I was a member of that, I volunteered to help and it grew from there.”
Don Cameron, who went on to be the founder of Cameron Balloons - the world’s largest hot air balloon manufacturer, joined the Bristol Aeroplane Company in the 1960s.
He developed Britain's first modern hot air balloon entitled Bristol Belle which flew for the first time in 1967.
Cameroon Balloons was formed in 1971 and eight years later the fiesta started.
Chris said: “It was suggested a small balloon meet should be held, and the rest is history.
“It’s just a magical thing. To see how it’s changed over the years is phenomenal.
“People come a long way for it too. 50% of people come from more than 50 miles away. Lots stay for the whole weekend too and camp.”
Despite this magic, Chris didn’t shy away from reflecting on the true costs of putting on the event.
“It costs £900k a year.
“Most of that is the labour - this fence doesn’t cost much, but you’ve got to pay someone to put it there, and then take it away again.”
Around 300 people work on site as part of the fiesta team, and then there’s traders on top of that.
“Last year we took 50 tonnes of litter away - that all costs money.”
The set-up process takes 10 days, something Chris said they’ve streamlined since the pandemic.
“We’re always trying to cut costs because costs rise inextricably. If we’d carried on where we were before covid we’d have been at £1.2million now.
“We have cut things back and changed things like fireworks after the nightglow.”
He revealed a third of income comes from pitch fees, a third from sponsorship, and a third from car parks. However, 80% of the car parking money only comes in during the final week.
Reflecting more on the Covid pandemic, Chris said this is the first year they’re making progress again.
“I feel this year that we are finally back post Covid. We’ve come out the other side. The world has changed in many respects, we are now ready to go forwards again. Before we were marking time and seeing what we could do.”
Funnily enough, Chris enjoys the balloons from the ground much more than being a passenger.
“Been up 30 years ago, I’ve no interest, it’s not something that floats my boat.
“I’m incredibly proud to be a part of it though. I’m more concerned about getting the car parks and loos right.”
Despite lots of hard work, headaches, and money worries, Chris said the novelty “never wears off”.
“It’s always changing, there’s always something new - a new challenge about what is going to go wrong, just when you think you’ve got it taped something happens.
“It’s a sense of huge relief when everything falls into place and they all go up because it doesn’t happen every time.
“My favourite memories of it are a lovely fresh clear morning and just watching all those balloons just drift away."