Special Shapes

Special Shapes at Bristol International Balloon Fiesta 2000-2018

Special shape hot air balloons always take centre stage at balloon festivals around the world. A client that are looking to have a balloon built would approach a balloon operator and they would discuss the various options, with a special shape being the most effective and eye-catching. We have had many brilliant special shapes flying over the skies of Bristol in the last 18 years at the Bristol Balloon Fiesta, so here is a chance to view them with a little information about them too.

View the special shape balloons by clicking on a year of the fiesta. 2018 was particularly good with many shapes attending for the 40th anniversary.

2018 (40th Anniversary!)

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

2001

2000

Special Shapes at Bristol International Balloon Fiesta 1980-1999

Click to view all special shape balloons that appeared at the fiesta throughout the two decades.

The Favourites

We have picked some of the stand out special shapes to grace the skies of Bristol ever since the first ever event in 1979. There are so many to choose from, but these are truly remarkable.

The Scottish Piper G-PIPY

Built in 1997 by Cameron Balloons and known as 'pipy' amongst balloonists, the piper special shape is one of the most incredible balloons ever built for detail and size. Often taking off at the end of mass ascents to playing bagpipes, the piper attended the fiesta most years from 1997 until 2009. Lots of balloons are commercially operated and built for advertising purposes, but the piper was purely built for fun and to put a smile on people's faces. The creator and pilot Muir Moffat said in 1997 TV interview, "I had seen some wonderful shapes and the reaction people have to them and I thought it would be nice to do something that would put a smile on so many faces", before going on saying "when I was at school in Scotland I was in a pipeband and piping is something that has always inspired me". The last time we saw the piper in Bristol was the 2009 Sunday evening launch where it took off alongside the Jaguar Car, which also has the same owner, to end the event. Since then it has been donated to the BBM&L.

Action Man G-CGIS (ex G-RIPS)

Action Man first appeared in Bristol in 1997, which was a truly amazing year for special shapes. As well as it being the first year for Action Man; the Piper, Jaguar Car, Bertie Bassett, Barclays house, Lurpark and more debuted in Bristol. Action Man was seen at the fiesta until 1999 until the contract ended. In its commercial years it was mainly piloted by Mark Simmons, who worked for the Virgin Airship & Balloon Company and now flies for Virgin Balloon Flights in Bristol and Bath. It tethered for a very short time in 2007 to see the condition of the envelope as it switched owners. Then unexpectedly in 2012 it returned to the fiesta alongside BabyBel G-BXUG, taking off twice over the four day event, including at the shapes launch with other old shapes including the Panasonic battery and Choc dips. The highlight was definitely seeing it fly with BabyBel at the end of Friday towards Nailsea. It's now not airworthy and unlikely to be seen back in the UK anytime soon.

Rupert Bear G-BTML

Operated by Flying Pictures, Rupert Bear is one of the all-time favourite shapes ever to grace the skies of the south west. Rupert was built in 1990 and enjoyed many flights across the city until 1995, brightening up the sky for thousands of people. Upon hot inflation, the fiesta commentators used to encourage the kids to shout "wake up Rupert". Unfortunately it's now in a very poor condition as there was an incident a number of years ago with vandals sadly setting the envelope on fire. The whole bottom half would have to be completely rebuilt, but maybe someday someone will make the effort to restore Rupert...

Bertie Bassett G-BXAL G-BZTS

The first of two Bertie Bassett special shapes, G-BXAL, was built in 1997. In 2001 the second liquorice allsorts character was created by the skilled Cameron Balloons team. Once built G-BZTS took over from the older envelope, attending in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2006. Bertie was seen at the 2002 press launch at Lloyds amphitheatre with G-LOOS. It also flew out of the press launch at Queen Square two years after being built, alongside Lloyds TSB, Servo, Sweb Energy, Roundtrees and many more. Both were inflated next to each other in 2001.

Caramel Bunny G-BUNI

The Cadbury's caramel bunny was built in 1993 and is often thought of being one of the best shapes to ever attend. Operated by the Virgin Airship & Balloon Company, G-BUNI attended for four consecutive years until 1996. In the 90s it was a common sight in Bristol each August to see the giant bunny taking off with others including Rupert bear, sonic, the Converse trainer, Unipart and national power shapes.

Sonic the Hedgehog G-SEGA

Sonic was built in 1992 by Cameron Balloons and attended the fiesta for several years, instantly becoming one of the most popular balloons on display. It was operated by the Virgin Airship & Balloon Company, who flew many of the other shapes around that time including Thomas the tank engine and G-MAPS. By 1997 the balloon was no longer at Bristol, and is now owned by Malcolm White in Ireland. He restored Sonic and flew it at Albuquerque recently. It still looks great!

Palletways Dragon G-PLLT

A more recent favourite of ours and many other people is the Palletways dragon shape, which had the only glass bottom basket in the UK at the time. It was operated by Lindstrand Media from 2010 until 2015, who also had the George white superbike envelope at Bristol in 2010 and 2011. The Palletways contract sadly came to an end once the 2015 fiesta ended and is unlikely to ever be seen again, but we enjoyed seeing it tether and fly over Bristol lots. A particular highlight was seeing it fly at the end of the 2015 Saturday PM ascent, as well as three Thursday special shape launches. The character balloon, known as Slick, was also seen at two fiesta press launches at Greville Smyth Park in Ashton.

Other Favourites

Pete the Pylon G-PYLN
Attended early-mid 1990s

Lurpak G-BXCK
Attended late 1990s

Michelin G-PNEU/GRIP
Attended late 1990s (+2018!)

Thomas G-BXND
Attended 1998-2001

Jaguar Car G-OXKB
Attended 1997-2012

Churchill G-CDOG
Attended 2004-2012

Monster G-MSTR
Attended 2001-2010

IKEA G-IKEA
Attended 2004-2008

Chubb G-BZJA
Attended 2000-2008 (+2018!)

Mister Bup OO-BUP
Attended 2006 & 2009

Tell us your favourite Bristol special shape!

Is one of your favourites not featured in this section? Let us know which and we'll add it to the page!

User Submissions

Longleat G-LEAT

Light Bulb G-LAMP

Lloyds TSB G-LTSB

Special Shapes Slideshow + Video

Some special shapes that have attended the Bristol Balloon Fiesta between 2004 and 2017! See all above.

Interesting YouTube Links

Special shape appearances in Bristol & Bath - not at Bristol Balloon Fiesta

THIS DOES NOT INCLUDE CAMERON BALLOONS TEST INFLATING SPECIAL SHAPES

L.E Electrical Light Bulb: 7 April 2017, Ashton Court PM - Ballooningmedia flew G-LAMP because Southern Plasticlad didn't get back in time from the record breaking cross channel flight.

Longleat Lion: 17 July 2017, Ashton Court PM - Exclusive Ballooning decided to fly 'Simbaloo' the Longleat lion over Bristol!

L.E Electrical Light Bulb: 23 May 2015, Bath Balloon Fiesta PM - Ballooningmedia got G-LAMP out for a short tether because the shape had been in its bag over the winter and it had got damp.

L.E Electrical Light Bulb: 23 August 2014, Bradley Stoke Carnival AM - Taking part in the Bradley Stoke Carnival, the newly owned special shape took off alongside Above & Beyond and Doombar. The last time G-LAMP was seen was at the 2014 Bristol Balloon Fiesta at the Friday morning launch.

Paddy Power Pants: 17 May 2014, Ashton Court AM - The special shape had a C of A at Ashton Court in the morning, whilst 7 balloons took to the skies.

UP: Bath Balloon Fiesta 2-5 May 2014 AM & PM: Cameron Balloons flew the UP balloon G-UPOI over central Bath taking part in the Bath Balloon Fiesta 2014.

Ricoh Cube: Thursday 17 April 2014, Maize Field AM - Exclusive Ballooning flew the Ricoh Cube (G-RCOH). G-RCOH took off before sunrise and it flew over the M4 and after a 3 hour flight it landed in the area of Henley-on Thames. It landed just before 9am in the morning.

Paddy Power Pants: Saturday 6 July 2013, Maize Field AM - Lighter than air flew the Paddy Power Pants (G-EGES). Lots of other round balloons flew here too. G-EGES sometimes flies over cities with a large population, but this may have just been for 2013.

Satzenbrau Bottle: Tuesday 25 June 2013, Ashton Court PM - Ballooningmedia tethered their Satzenbrau Bottle special shape (G-BIRE) in the grounds of Ashton Court. Just less than 2 months later, they tethered it at the special shapes rodeo at the 2013 fiesta.

Monster: 23 July 2012 - This classic special shape had a CofA in the maize field and was hot inflated. This was the same evening that the Jones Lang Lasalle balloon (G-CHDH) had its maiden flight over Bristol for the fiesta title sponsorship. They passed the monster having the CofA.

Churchill: 4 June 2012 - A Jubilee tether was organised and it took place on the Downs. A-GAS G-CDMC, G-BRTV, Road to Mandalay G-BWKW, University of Bristol G-CDWD, Taittinger G-CEKS, Pollywallets G-POLY, Bristol Balloons G-CGZR, Cameron Balloons G-CGVV, G-BWKV, Cancer Research G-CBNI (artwork has since been removed) and ABC Flights G-BYHU all took off to celebrate the queen's diamond jubilee. BWS Security Systems and Churchill tethered throughout and Bailey Balloons pulled out at the last minute because of low winds (they were going to fly G-DSPK). Churchill, operated by the Airship & Balloon Company, was the first to inflate and the last to deflate.

Jaguar Car 2010: The Jaguar Car (G-OXKB) was inflated on the 19th of July. This happened at Ashton Court and it was a CofA test. The Jaguar Car's next appearance was at the balloon fiesta two weeks later, where it tethered. Its fellow special shape, the Piper, made no appearance even though it was due to originally attend.

Bass Beer: 2005: Bass Beer (G-CDLB) was seen at BIBF in 2005 and it flew most probably just before this. This was its maiden flight and it probably launched from Ashton Court in the evening.

Choc Dips 2003: The owner of Choc Dips (G-DIPI) flew the special shape over Bristol taking off from Ashton Court just before BIBF 2003.

Click on the photos to view the full photo albums. Credits to Ballooning Pictures and Phil's Balloons.

Sainsbury's Flying Circus

Sainsbury’s had five special shapes built in 1996 to create a huge advertising tool that could take off, literally. They all attended the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta for a few years after they came out of the Cameron Balloons Factory. In 1997 they were seen flying out of College Green together whilst their LBL 31A hopper stayed tethered. This attracted lots of attention, as it’s not everyday you see a giant strawberry and bunch of carrots floating past your office window! College Green was packed - nobody wanted to miss this spectacle on their daily commute through the city.

Flying Circus Photos: Ballooning Pictures