BBC One's famous globe hot air balloon is set to return to the UK ballooning circuit after 20 years in storage.
The BBC Globe balloon was a regular sight on television screens across the country from 1997 to 2002 in between programmes shown on BBC One. Operated by Virgin Airship & Balloon Company (VABC), G-IBBC, the Cameron Sphere-105, also attended many well-known balloon festivals such as Bristol and Northampton.
Mark Lockwood, creative director at VABC, helped design the envelope with agency Lambie-Nairn in 1997. Of course usually a globe of the Earth is blue and green in colour, but it soon became obvious that a balloon with this colour scheme against predominantly countryside and blue skies would blend into its surroundings too much to stand out. They flipped the colour wheel and instead looked at using orange and red fabric to create the balloon.
You can read more of Mark's special shape stories on our website.
47 films were produced of the balloon floating over Britain, each 35 seconds long, from the Scottish highlands to the River Thames. Some viewers may not have realised this was a real aircraft and not digital imagery!
On 28th March 2002 the final ident featuring the balloon aired and last flew at the Bristol Balloon Fiesta 6 months later for its final flight. The globe was then placed into storage and was known to be looked after by the Balloon Preservation Group until the group fell apart.
Watch the final flight video on YouTube here.
Watch all BBC idents featuring the balloon here.
How it was found again...
Fast forward 20 years. In October 2022 the balloon was given to our good friends Liam and Dan at Bristol Balloon Collectors, who got in touch with Mark Lockwood to gain the right permissions for it to be publicly seen again.
After a few weeks the BBC granted permission and expressed no concerns about the balloon being displayed again this year. We all posted across Bristol Balloon Collectors and MJ Ballooning social media channels to reveal where the balloon now was and certainly did not expect the response - national press, live TV and radio interviews!
Photo: BBC News
The Test Inflation
A private inflation of the special shape took place at the beginning of March to check for any damage, which we attended. The inflation went very well and although the balloon has faded a little after not seeing the light of day for almost 20 years, it doesn't look much different to the 90s.
Some minor repairs may be required to the lower half of the envelope but it's hoped the first public outing may be at the Midlands Air Festival at Ragley Hall 2-4 June.
An interesting thing about the BBC Globe and many other balloons from that time, is that the artwork was hand-painted (the white clouds). Another good example of this is Ordnance Survey G-MAPS, entirely painted with brush marks clearly visible up close - a reminder of the incredible time and skill that went into bringing these shapes to life.
News Articles and Interviews
- BBC Points West - Liam was interviewed live on 1st March by Jules Hyam - watch on YouTube
- BBC Radio Somerset - I was also delighted to speak with Paris Troy on 6th March on behalf of the collection.
- Mark Lockwood has spoken on many radio stations in the past week giving insight into how the balloon was operated, built and plans for the future.
Follow for further updates on the BBC Globe balloon
