The London Hot Air Balloon Festival has been canceled for the fifth consecutive year due to weather conditions

London’s highly anticipated hot air balloon festival has been canceled for the fifth year in a row due to concerns about bad weather.

The Mayor’s Hot Air Balloon Regatta was due to take place in the capital on Sunday – but was canceled for the fifth year in a row, as well as the second time this year, after being rescheduled from July 7 due to windy conditions .

Organizers hope the event, which was due to start at 5am in Battersea Park, could now take place on July 28 after the last successful one took place in 2019.

The regatta is part of the Lord Mayor’s historic festivities, with 50 hot air balloons flying across central London to raise awareness and funds for the Lord Mayor’s Appeal. Since 2015, it has raised over £250,000.

The 2020 and 2021 events were suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, while the 2022 and 2023 editions were canceled due to weather conditions.

Organizers have now announced that wind conditions have forced them to stop the flight on Sunday morning, with the hope of rescheduling for the following Sunday, which is the next of several possible dates allocated each year.

Writing on social media, they said: “Unfortunately the change in the wind direction forecast did not materialize and we have taken the difficult decision to cancel the scheduled flight this morning for the safety of all teams on board.

“We appreciate the support of everyone involved, especially the public who interacted with us and came out to fly.

“We now move on to the next waiting date of next Sunday, July 28.”

Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, the Houses of Parliament, the Tower of London and Tower Bridge are among the landmarks the balloons are set to fly over this year, organizers said, adding that Mayor Michael Mainelli is set to lead the event.