London hot air balloon regatta cancelled for third time

The last time the regatta took place was in 2019

The company behind London's Hot Air Balloon Regatta is looking at whether the event can go ahead after it was cancelled for a third time this year.

Dozens of hot air balloons had been set to soar above London's skyline for the first time since 2020.

Three dates in May and July had been earmarked for launch, but each had to be called off due to adverse weather.

Since 2015, the regatta, which aims to raise awareness about the Lord Mayor's Appeal, has raised over £250,000.

The last time the regatta took place was in 2019, when 46 hot air balloons took off from Battersea Park at 05:30 BST and floated through the skies across central London.

That event raised £76,000 for charity.

Posting on Facebook organisers wrote: "We have taken the decision to stand down the Lord Mayor's Hot Air Balloon Regatta flight for 2 July.

"Both wind speeds and direction are beyond safe limits.

"The wind direction is heading straight down the river, which would leave very few landing sites before we reached Holland.

"While this is currently the last standby date for the The Lord Mayor's Hot Air Balloon Regatta, we are now actively investigating availability and options for another date later in the year to reschedule."

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