Yorkshire Balloon Fiesta disrupted by bad weather

Organisers have had to call off part of the festival due to safety concerns over bad weather

An annual balloon festival has had to cancel part of its show due to safety concerns.

The Yorkshire Balloon Fiesta at York Racecourse, which was cancelled last year due to the pandemic, has called off their mass balloon launch due to heavy wind and rain.

A tethered balloon display was also cancelled earlier in the day.

The four-day festival was expected to attract up to 50,000 visitors.

The annual Balloon Fiesta was first held in York in 2017

A statement on social media said: "Our flight director has held a flight briefing. Due to the wind and rain being above the safe limit for flying, we are unable to have an evening flight.

"We're devastated that we aren't able to have a flight tonight, but pilot and public safety is our number one priority. We hope you understand and enjoy the rest of the entertainment planned for this evening including the Firework, Laser and Drone Show Finale!"

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The event had originally been planned for May after the 2020 event was cancelled, but could not go ahead due to government restrictions.

It was rescheduled for September, but a clash with a race meeting resulted in it being brought forward to August.

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