Regatta Updates

Sunday will be a lovely summers day with light winds and whilst perfect for a picnic in a park, sadly not suitable for ballooning over London.

Forecasts show very light winds on the surface and continuing up and beyond 3000ft. Balloons fly with the wind and therefore rely on this to carry them safely out of the City. With such little wind, it would take a very long time for them to clear the active airspace and also to fly out of the built up areas in the city to more open areas, which would allow for a safe landing.

We must take into account that we have up to fifty balloons of different sizes and shapes flying, with pilots of varying levels of experience and it is our responsibility to ensure that we only proceed when conditions allow for a safe and stable flight for all.

Light winds will effect multiple aspects of how a balloon flies. It can change the planned flight duration from one hour to three hours or more; it can mean having to carry more fuel cylinders in the basket to ensure there is enough duration to get to a safe landing spot and therefore no longer being able to carry passengers due to reducing weight and needing the space in the basket for fuel cylinders.

Flying over central London is a privilege and we must ensure that conditions are suitable and safe for not only launch but while in the air and landing. We are therefore taking the difficult but correct decision to stand down Sunday 28th July.

Our team share in the frustration and disappointment of the decision to postpone due to not enough wind! However when you are dealing with something that is wholly weather dependent, that is the reality – in the same way the rain stops the cricket.

Whilst this was the last scheduled date for July, we will now coordinate with all relevant parties, to confirm if another standby date can be arranged for this year. Thank you to all of the messages of support from around the world on all platforms. Arranging a mass hot air balloon flight over central London always carries a risk of postponement but as the support messages continue to say, that is not a reason not to try. We firmly believe it will be worth the wait!

We are monitoring a potential weather slot for Sunday 28th July and are now on AMBER ALERT.

While it looks set to be a nice day on Sunday, the forecast shows light winds both on the surface and at altitude. In order for us to safely fly, we must ensure that there will be sufficient upper winds for balloons to clear the built up areas and not remain stuck over London. We will continue to monitor closely throughout the day.

We will provide another update this afternoon circa 4pm.

We would like to say a huge thank you to all of the pilots and crew, press, guests and The Rt. Hon. The Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress of London, who travelled to site this morning for The Lord Mayor’s Hot Air Balloon Regatta®?. In particular to those who travelled long distances, including balloon teams from Germany and Switzerland, who had been driving through the night to arrive on time.

Hot air ballooning is a wholly weather dependant activity and when flying over central London as part of a mass flight, with the additional elements of a built up area and busy airspace, there are a multitude of factors involved that must be considered.

We did not take the decision to stand down lightly. All balloon teams remained on a weather hold for as long as possible, waiting for the conditions to improve as forecast, until it sadly become too late to proceed. While we also share in this disappointment, the safety of all of the balloon teams and passengers, will continue to be our main priority.

Thank you very much to all of the public who followed and supported the event on social media and to those who woke up and ventured out early to see the balloons.

We have received a huge spike in public interest for the event this year and have been overwhelmed with messages and enquiries. The main event website, www.BalloonRegatta.com, saw such high levels of traffic that this effected its response/loading time and we are fully aware of the issues that some were experiencing. We apologise for any inconvenience and are already taking steps to improve this as quickly as possible.

Following the frustration of last years forced cancellation, we were determined not to miss a flying opportunity. The forecast for the rain and cloud base improvements were spot on, but sadly the upper wind direction proved to be around 40 degrees away from the forecast winds. The significance of this was a wind that would have taken the balloons straight down the Thames and out to sea.

You cannot steer a hot air balloon, you can only fly with the wind. Therefore, if the wind direction is heading out to sea with no option for a safe landing, it’s quite a simple decision that it’s unsafe to fly.

We persevered as long as was possible on a weather hold, waiting for this to change as per the forecast, but sadly it didn’t materialise. Standing down on site is a brave and difficult decision, but it was the right and safe decision and we thank all those who’ve sent messages of support despite the disappointment.

We understand that some were left feeling frustrated by the time in between official updates. Our team were on site from 2am this morning and were continuously monitoring the conditions. From 5am, while on a weather hold, there is little more we can do than wait for the weather to evolve, either as forecast or as in the case with this morning, different to what was forecast. Therefore when conditions on site did change and we were aware of an update, this was communicated to pilots on site and posted on our social media.

We are reviewing this process internally to look at how we maybe able to add any additional communications in between key updates, to help keep everyone informed.

We appreciate the huge amount of patience, support and understanding that has been shown on social media and we cannot wait to see the balloons taking off in London.

We are now rolling to our next standby date of Sunday 28th July, with the next expected weather update to be posted in the afternoon on Friday 26th July.

Unfortunately the forecast change in wind direction has not materialised, and we have made the difficult decision to stand down the scheduled flight this morning for the safety of all teams on board.

We appreciate the support from everyone involved, especially the public who have interacted with us and come out for the flight.

We now roll to our next standby date of next Sunday, July 28th.

Our teams have just conducted a further briefing following an update from our weather team.

As forecast, the rain has stopped, however, the current wind direction is still placing the direction of travel down the Thames, making the flight currently unsuitable.

The forecast is for the upper wind direction to continue to turn to the right throughout the next hour providing a suitable flight path. We will continue to monitor and If the direction does turn as forecast, we are hopeful the flight can take place.

Our teams are on site where there is currently light rain which was expected, and forecast to clear from 5am. Our weather team are closely monitoring the weather radar and we are still hopeful that the flight may be able to take place once the rain clears.

We remain on Green Status and continuing as planned.

Although our launch time could still be around 5:15am, it is anticipated this may now be more around 6am and we will provide further updates tomorrow morning, from circa 4:30am onwards.

The best viewing points will depend on the actual wind direction at 1000ft in the morning.

At this stage the Bromley area is looking likely for viewing points but we will update around an hour before launch on social media with the projected best locations and timings.

The projected direction of the balloons currently take us towards Bromley and Orpington.

Please can we politely remind everyone that the launch site is not open to the public. We will make announcements tomorrow morning as soon as we are able and provide as much information as we can.

We sincerely appreciate all of the amazing support and interest in this event and we ask for you patience and understanding as we work to provide the most up-to-date information possible, as quickly as the weather will allow us!

We remain on Green Status and are proceeding as planned. However, we are closely monitoring the times of the weather fronts coming in overnight, which could give us low cloud or light drizzle and may prevent us being able to launch.

At this time the chances of flying do look hopeful and therefore balloon teams are proceeding to site.

We will provide a further update this evening, circa 10pm. This update will include further details about direction, timings and where may be the best place to see the balloons.

We would like to remind everyone that the launch site is closed to the public.

We are delighted to confirm that we are officially moving to Green Status for The Lord Mayor’s Hot Air Balloon Regatta®? flight tomorrow morning.

The rain that is moving through is forecast to clear the area prior to our launch time and should leave us clear skies. The upper winds are forecast to take just south of the river but we will have a better understanding of direction in this afternoons update.

There is still a risk that wind gust speeds may be high but the flight committee certainly feel that there is a good chance of a flying slot and we are therefore proceeding as planned.

We will provide a further update circa 3pm this afternoon.

We are officially moving to AMBER ALERT for Sunday 21st July.

While the forecasts remain inconclusive, it does appear to be improving, increasing our chances of a successful flight.

We will provide a final decision tomorrow circa midday.

We have taken the decision to officially stand down The Lord Mayor’s Hot Air Balloon Regatta® flight for Sunday 7th July.

The upper wind speeds are forecast to be quick and increasing quickly, causing gusty and unstable conditions, especially at the time of landing.

We have a duty of care to all fifty balloon teams, VIPs, press and guests participating in this event and taking into account that we have balloons of various shapes and sizes and different levels of pilot experience, we have taken the responsible decision to stand down.

We now roll to our next standby date of Sunday 21st July.

We are currently monitoring a potential weather slot for Sunday 7th July and are therefore on alert.

It does look like the weather this weekend will prove to be too breezy, however there is a small chance of a lull in the windspeeds that will allow us to proceed.

We will be providing another update late tonight.

Welcome to The Lord Mayor’s Hot Air Balloon Regatta® 2024.

We are currently on standby for Sunday 7th, Sunday 21st and Sunday 28th and we will proceed on the first date where the weather is suitable.

We will be posting updates on this page and our social media on each preceding Friday.

Please note that the launch site is not open to the public. If you wish to see the balloons, we will be providing an expected wind direction when we call the flight on, for you to see the balloons in the air. The expected launch time will be circa 05:00am.