Balloon music hit by weather

The music will now be broadcast to the sleeping city on Saturday

Plans to broadcast music from balloons hundreds of feet above Bristol have been cancelled because of mist.

Installation artists had hoped to pipe orchestral music from airborne loudspeakers at 0600 BST on Thursday to open the city's balloon fiesta.

But thick sea mist meant visibility was too low for the stunt to go ahead safely.

The musical wake-up call to the city, will now be broadcast on Saturday instead.

A balloon fiesta spokeswoman said: "The balloons did go up, but they were tethered, so we hope they will be able to fly properly on Saturday."

Good forecasts

It is not the first time the weather has interfered with the four-day festival, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year.

Last year wet weather stopped a number of events at the fiesta, including a mass balloon ascent and a world record attempt.

And in 2001, the foot-and-mouth epidemic meant balloon flights were restricted for fear of spreading the disease.

Organisers of this year's fiesta had hoped good weather forecasts would mean it would go ahead as planned.

Other attractions planned for the weekend include a series of pop, rock and classical music concerts, two late-night balloon glows and fireworks displays.