If you get up early on a Sunday morning in June, then you might see the glorious sight of up to 50 hot air balloons drifting gently over Central London, as part of the Lord Mayor of London’s balloon regatta.
Unlike previous years where they’ve flown over East London, 2018 should be even more spectacular as they’re promising a route over Central London itself.
The amount of planning that will have had to go into getting permission to fly a lot of hot air balloons over central London cannot be underestimated. Wind and weather permitting, they should be able to fly over Buckingham Palace, Houses of Parliament, London Eye, Trafalgar Square and Tower of London.
The regatta is a fundraiser, with the balloon’s corporate sponsors donating to support the annual Lord Mayor’s Appeal.
The Lord Mayor’s Hot Air Balloon Regatta will be on standby for an early morning lift-off on either 3rd, 10th 17th June or 1st July (there will be no standby date on Sunday June 24th).
Due to the weather dependent nature of hot air ballooning, this event is on standby for a Sunday morning and will proceed on the first available of these dates when the weather is suitable.
They usually confirm the lift-off on a Friday afternoon when the weather reports are accurate enough to suggest the Sunday morning will be suitable.
I’ll keep this page updated with the lift-off times (or cancellations) and take-off location as they are announced.
Update: The scheduled flight for Sunday 17th June has now been officially stood down. They remain on standby for the next date of 1st July.
Does anyone know if they will keep heading East and out past Canary Wharf, City Airport, etc?