The annual meeting of balloons draws participants from around the world, and will be held at Ashton Court Estate from August 9-12.
Celebrating the fiesta’s 40th year, around 130 balloons are expected to reach for the skies during the four-day event.
The first day of the Fiesta will see a mass ascent at dusk – weather permitting (Ben Birchall/PA)
‘Bristol’s Glowing’ will be the specially-commissioned musical theme of the nightglow event, which will be capped with a firework finale on Thursday 9 (Ben Birchall/PA)
Balloon crews check the canopy of a hot air balloon before flight at the Ashton Court Estate (Ben Birchall/PA)
The first Fiesta was held in 1978, and it remains a popular event for thousands of spectators (Ben Birchall/PA)
