17/07/2024
In relation to the event at corbridge last weekend. We wanted to put out a post
Our event finished on Sunday and we have worked to pull down the site safely following a weeks worth of rain. also we have been awaiting a statement from exclusive ballooning as they are responsible for all aspects of the ballooning activities at this weekends event. We wanted to get something sooner out and apologise as haven’t been able to until now.
We want to first thank everyone for supporting our event on the weekend we have had mixed feedback and would like to address everyone who supported this event.
We have been working on this event since August and have planned to bring Northumberland its first ever balloon festival. We have done everything in our control to schedule and run Northumberland such a prestigious event.
On Friday ticket prices was £5,
On Saturday the tickets prices was £15
On Sunday prices £10
Our schedule which includes live music performances, live family entertainment, live acts, ballooning shows & tribute acts all went ahead as planned.
Everything went to plan unfortunately the poor weather made exclusive ballooning change the ballooning schedule which we the event organisers understand. this was put in the terms and conditions and posted across all our platforms to make people aware of this. We wanted to be clear that due to weather the ballooning element of the event could be affected.
These platforms are:
Facebook Northumberland balloon festival
website
Northumberlandballoonfestival.com
And ticket source Northumberland balloon festival
All this information was provided so people was aware this could happen prior to our customers making a ticket purchase. A constant reminder on Facebook posts to remind people of this running upto the event and during the event.
Some people understand and some are frustrated but we the event organisers really do understand your frustrations not seeing as many balloons on the weekend as a result of the change. Our job as event organisers is to make everyone aware of this prior and during the event and we have done this.
We want to make this an annual event so it’s in our best interest for everything to go as scheduled.
Unfortunately as the event organisers we have faced the brunt of peoples anger and frustrations. The weather is completely out of our control. We have done everything we can this weekend. Poor weather is something we face every day in the event industry.
On Friday weather was good and we have had a great show with really good feedback. “A once in a lifetime night” one customer told us.
Many enjoyed the fantastic selection of family freindly activities and we were praised for our efforts delivering this event. One lady told us she travels to the York event from Northumberland but now she can see this on her own doorstep.
On the weekend we had positive feedback in relation to the weekend activities. People understood that the weather is out of everyone’s control but really enjoyed everything else.
As this is a new event in a new location it may be new to some customers how this event goes in poor weather. Please reaserch this type of event across the UK as they all have the same type of weather related problems. Exclusive balloon provide the balloons for most of these events across the Uk.
Comments made saying our organisation mislead people. This is not true and we will not accept this. We have done everything in our power to deliver our event and be clear what’s happening and what could happen.
Weather affected the weekends ballooning schedule but we made people aware this could happen prior to purchasing there tickets for the event, during the event regular updates was given to us from exclusive ballooning which we then shared with our customers. All balloning activities and how and when we announced messages relating to balloning activities is completely in their control.
The ballooning launch times were between 6pm-7.30pm. An update was given via video and posted to our page before operating on Saturday. During the day on Saturday the weather was really poor but the forecast was set to clear up. We were waiting for the weather to improve before giving an announcement. When we knew that it was not possible to do the mass launch, we let everyone know straight away.
Sunday
We were able to do tethered displays and were able to announce this earlier in the day on the page. We could see from the forecast that we wouldn’t be able to do the balloon launch at 7.30pm. So this was announced earlier.
Ballooning activity’s on any given day is dependant on current weather and upcoming weather.
We believe the value of the tickets was good for what lineup we had. We had booked a large amount of balloons and we were as frustrated as anyone that these couldn’t be launched and the schedule changed due to weather.
Everything we have worked on seems to be determined by some people by poor weather. When we planned this last August, we choose the best time to hold this event, the middle of July. We have just been so unlucky with weather.
Please find down below attached list of -
- Our terms and conditions when purchasing the tickets
- a response from Exclusive ballooning about the weekend
- our top 3 FAQ
- and also images from over the course of the weekend.
Each person was well made aware of everything in relation to the event and signed the terms and conditions before purchasing.
Response from exclusive ballooning :
“Our SkySafari®️ night glow which was scheduled for Friday evening proceeded as planned with a bespoke choreographed night glow show with the famous SkySafari®️ animal balloons taking centre stage.
As a bonus activity on Friday, we were able to also launch several balloons - this was additional activity to what was scheduled.
The main launches on Saturday and Sunday were unable to take place due to the rain and also low cloud base, balloons cannot fly in rain or with unstable shower activity on the forecast and need specific legal weather conditions. This is a simple safety decision which is beyond everyone’s control.
However, on both days the teams worked to bring additional activity which was unscheduled by way of inflating many of the balloons, focusing on some of the special shapes tethered in between the rain showers.
On Sunday, there was constant balloon activity from 3:45pm (within ten minutes of the rain subsiding) through and during the football which was shown on the big screen at the stage.
We recognise that it maybe disappointing for people who were hoping to see more activity, teams had traveled from far and wide to put on a show and were equally frustrated.
Like all outdoor events in the UK, just like rain stopping play at Wimbledon or the cricket, we are governed by the weather. But sadly we cannot control the this and the safety of our teams and ground crew is our prime concern but will always aim to do as much activity as is possible .
This was a first for corbridge and we tried our best to bring this event to everyone. But as we all know the weather was not great over the course of the weeekend.
The chronicle
We are deeply concerned by the Chronicle's one-sided and misleading portrayal of the Northumberland Balloon Festival.
The article, published without seeking our input, unfairly focuses solely on negative feedback and uses an out-of-context photo. The information posted on there platform is incorrect. They should have checked the information was correct before posting to such a large platform.
This biased and untrue reporting has significant consequences for everyone involved in the event.
We are actively exploring our options to address this misrepresentation, which has unfairly damaged our reputation and that of the festival and everyone involved.
We want to thank everyone for supporting our event, for those who are happy you would be glad to know we are running this event in 2025 and updates will be posted on this page.
For anyone who wasn’t satisfied with this years event we dont expect you to show an interest in our future events but we wanted to take the time to thank you directly for supporting this years event.
Thank you 💙
