Fiesta Fortnight plans revealed

A landmark partnership between the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta and the Nation’s Favourite coffee shop, Costa Coffee, has enabled a special ballooning event, named the ‘Fiesta Fortnight’, to be able to take place this Summer in the city.

From Monday 2nd August to Sunday 15th August 2021, the ‘Fiesta Fortnight’ will see hundreds of hot air balloons taking off from multiple locations across the city and filling the sky with not only classic hot air balloons, but some special shapes and characters including Stuart the Minion.

Over 700 nominations were submitted by locals to help pick the locations of where the balloons will take off from – these included local parks, public spaces, car parks and streets. To find out the final list of locations stay tuned to the Fiesta Fortnight’s social media channels. There you will find regular updates on all locations and timing to help plan your time to head outside to view the balloons flying over the city.

What’s more, the Fiesta Fortnight partner, Costa Coffee, will be visiting several of the take of locations to treat residents nearby with a special little balloon-shaped surprise outside their window!

Chris Allcock, Chair of the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta said: “We were sad that we weren’t able to host the much-loved annual Balloon Festival in Ashton Court this year due to COVID-19. However, this special edition of the fiesta is going to be something spectacular for the city and we are so thankful to Costa Coffee for partnering with us to help this happen. There were some clear winners and favourite locations for balloons to fly from, highlighted from the hundreds of suggestions from fiesta fans. So, we’re hoping to make sure the greatest number of people will be able to enjoy the balloons, including some communities that rarely get balloons overhead.”

Those out and about in the city centre will be able to experience Costa Coffee’s new Costa: LIVE Experience Pod, which will be in the city centre at various locations from Monday 2nd August to Sunday 15th August 2021. This hub provides visitors with the perfect space to view the balloons crossing the city skyline as they take a moment to enjoy a cup of their favourite barista-quality machine-crafted coffee.

Nick Orrin, Director of Costa Express UK&I, said: “We are proud to partner with the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta on such a fantastic event. After what has been an unprecedented time for many, we wanted to give something exciting to the Bristol community to enjoy.

“Not only are we bringing the Costa: LIVE Experience Pod to the city this summer, but Bristol is the first city in the UK to receive our brand-new Costa Express Hot & Iced drink machines, which can deliver over 500 different barista-quality drinks, from flat-whites to iced lattes and iced fruit cordials. Located all over the city - we hope everyone is as excited as we about the new Costa Express machines and can enjoy an iced coffee in the summer sun and take in the Fiesta Fortnight.”

The Costa Express Hot & Iced drink machine is the world’s first integrated self-serve coffee machine, reinvented to deliver both hot and iced drinks. Costa Coffee will be rolling out over 40 Costa Express locations across Bristol this summer. For more information on the Fiesta Fortnight head to http://bristolballoonfiesta.co.uk/ and follow Twitter, Instagram, TikTok or Facebook.

For more information on the new Costa Express Hot & Iced drink machine head to: https://www.costa.co.uk/business/costa-express/machines