Strathaven Balloon Festival set for lift off in front of 30,000 visitors

A South Lanarkshire balloon festival is set for lift off in front of 30,000 visitors following its cancellation last year.

The annual Strathaven Balloon Festival flies into John Hastie Park over the weekend of August 22 to 24, and attracts balloonists from all over the UK and Ireland.

It will be the 25th anniversary of the free yearly event, which returns after locals missed out last year due to adverse weather.

The weekend will see flights, with balloons arriving on Friday with flights from 6pm if the weather permits, live music, a fun fair, Stormcloud Alpacas, food vans, stalls, classic cars and many more attractions.

Strathaven Balloon Festival 2023 LesHoggan/Strathaven Balloon Festival

The Sky Masters from Skydive Strathallan will put on a display at the park at 4pm on both Saturday and Sunday, and on Saturday, just after 9pm, the highlight of the annual event will see a ‘spectacular evening glow’.

The festival attracts pilots and visitors from all over Europe with more than 30,000 spectators attending.

Organiser Les Hoggan said: “We are delighted to be able to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Strathaven Balloon Festival after the disappointment of having to cancel in 2024 due to adverse weather.

“This is Scotland’s original and free festival and we love being able to welcome visitors to our town to enjoy what is a fantastic event. We have lots for visitors to see and do. The festival is free to enter but we welcome donations from visitors as this is a volunteer run event that attracts no public funding.

“Thanks to all our sponsors and funders and also to our many volunteers.”