The Bristol International Balloon Fiesta is back for its 48th edition, bringing more than 100 hot air balloons from around the world to Ashton Court Estate from **August 7 to August 9, 2026**. As one of Europe's biggest hot air balloon festivals, the free event is expected to attract hundreds of thousands of visitors with its famous dawn and dusk mass ascents, spectacular Nightglow displays, live entertainment and family-friendly attractions.
Visitors can watch colourful balloons take to the skies twice a day during the festival's signature mass ascents, weather permitting. Balloon teams from the UK, Belgium, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, Mexico and the United States will participate. The launches can also be tracked live through the festival's Flight Control system from take-off to landing.
