Thousands attend Yorkshire Balloon Fiesta at new venue

The balloon fiesta took place at Castle Howard for the first time in 2023

Tens of thousands of people have taken part in a balloon festival in its first year at a new venue.

The Yorkshire Balloon Fiesta at Castle Howard featured mass launches of hot air balloons from all over Europe.

Sam Ryder, Toploader, Blue and Ella Henderson were among live acts also performing at the event over the bank holiday weekend.

More than 20,000 tickets were sold for the event, which started on Friday and ends on Monday, the festival team said.

It was the first time the festival, which started in 2017 and was previously held at York Racecourse, had taken place at the stately home in the Howardian Hills.

Organisers previously said the move to a new venue previously said the move to a new venue would allow the event to expand.

Hot air balloonists from all over Europe took part in the event

The festival had also been subject to date moves in recent years due to a clash with a race meeting and had drawn criticism for its impact on traffic in the city.

Launches took place on Friday evening and Saturday morning but windy and cloudy weather meant the evening launch planned for Sunday had to be cancelled.

Balloons on display included those in the shape of a frog, a chicken in an egg, a bear and a ship, which was brought from Holland to take part in the event.

The festival featured live music and activities

Hot air balloons were launched on Friday evening

More than 20,000 tickets were sold for this year's festival