A unique event held in London every year has been postponed due to the weather. The Lord Mayor’s Hot Air Balloon Regatta was supposed to take place on Sunday, July 7, but was cancelled due to “unstable conditions” and high winds.
The event sees up to 50 hot air balloons take to the skies over London, raising money for the Lord Mayor’s Appeal. But this isn’t the first time the hot air balloon flight has been called off.
Due to the pandemic, in 2020 and 2021 the hot air balloon regattas were stood down, and due to weather conditions, the 2022 and 2023 events were also cancelled. But hope isn’t lost for 2024 – a new date has been proposed for the stunning ballooning event.
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Each year, a couple of ‘standby dates’ are also added to the event, in case of weather difficulties such as was the case on Sunday. Therefore, the regatta has now been postponed to the first standby date – Sunday, July 21.
On Instagram, the event organisers posted a statement: “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.”
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