London’s hot air balloon festival cancelled for fifth year in row due to weather conditions

Lord Mayor’s Hot Air Balloon Regatta was set to take place in the capital on Sunday

Hot air balloons fly over London as a part of the Lord Mayor's Hot Air Balloon Regatta in London in 2019 (Reuters)

London’s highly anticipated hot air balloon festival has been cancelled for the fifth year in a row due to concerns over poor weather.

The Lord Mayor’s Hot Air Balloon Regatta was set to take place in the capital on Sunday – but it was cancelled for the fifth consecutive year, as well as for the second time this year after it was rescheduled from 7 July due to wind conditions.

Organisers hope the event, which was due to begin at 5am in Battersea Park, could now happen on 28 July instead, after the last successful one took place back in 2019.

The last successful regatta took place back in 2019 (Reuters)

The regatta is part of the historic Lord Mayor’s Show festivities, with 50 hot air balloons taking flight across central London to raise awareness and funds for the Lord Mayor’s Appeal. It has raised more than £250,000 since 2015.

The 2020 and 2021 events were stood down due to the coronavirus pandemic, while the 2022 and 2023 editions were cancelled due to weather conditions.

The organisers have now announced that wind conditions forced them to stand down the flight on Sunday morning, with the hopes of rescheduling to the following Sunday, which is the next of the several possible dates earmarked every year.

Writing on social media, they said: “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.”

Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, the Houses of Parliament, the Tower of London and Tower Bridge are among the landmarks the balloons are set to pass over this year, said organisers, adding that Lord Mayor Michael Mainelli is due to lead the event.