Aintree balloon festival firm defends event and blames bad weather

Bosses behind a hot air balloon festival have defended the event after a string of complaints.

KC Promotions, which staged the festival at Aintree racecourse over the weekend, said they worked “tirelessly” for the last six months to put on the show but claimed the weather had let them down.

Keith Coulter said they were “bitterly disappointed” windy weather meant they struggled to keep their tethered balloons upright but said they still managed to display some balloons and had constantly communicated the ever-changing situation to the crowds.

Speaking for the Oldham-based company he said: “KC Promotions have organised many successful events supported and enjoyed by tens of thousands of people throughout the country for many years.

“We have worked tirelessly for the last six months to produce the event at Aintree and are bitterly disappointed that due to weather conditions we were unable to display the hot air balloons more frequently than we did.

“Hot air balloons when tethering [being tied to the ground] have a maximum wind speed of eight knots which is approximately 9.2mph after which it becomes dangerous to the pilot and crew and also the surrounding public.”

His comments followed a series of complaints from people who went to the show and said they did not see any balloons on display but were still charged.

One said: “We went to the balloon festival to see the hot air balloons and there were none!

“This was advertised as Aintree hot air balloon festival and I would like a reason why people paid an entrance fee to this falsely advertised event.

“Rubbish bins were overflowing and there were the most revolting toilets and there were many other concerns and complaints about both days.”

Another family said they took their two-year-old hoping for a fun day but were left “bitterly disappointed as there was not a hot air balloon in sight”.

KC Promotions said they displayed eight balloons on Saturday and five on Sunday but claimed the weather had been “unkind” and although balloonists were getting them up they were only staying upright for short periods because of the wind.

They said the “vast majority of people had enjoyed themselves” but apologised for the condition of the public toilets on the Saturday.

via – Liverpool Echo.