Darth Vader Brings The Dark Side To Europe's Largest Ballooning Fiesta
Darth Vader is stealing the show at the 2019 Bristol International Balloon Fiesta.
A hot air balloon likeness of the “Star Wars” character wowed spectators in southwest England early Thursday at this year’s first mass ascent of Europe’s largest ballooning event.
Mark Hamill, star of the space opera movie franchise, also approved.
“After a horrible, no good, terrible week, there’s nothing quite like a giant floating #DarthVader balloon to distract from reality & raise your spirits,” he tweeted, alongside the hashtag #ThanksDad.
The festival runs until Sunday at the Ashton Court Estate.
Some 130 balloonists from around the world are participating in the 41st annual fiesta, which is free for visitors to attend. Mass ascents are scheduled at 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. local time each day.
They are all contingent on weather, however, as seen last year when the majority of the ascents were canceled. So far this year, the Thursday afternoon and both ascents on Friday and Saturday have been called off. High winds even forced the closure of the entire fiesta site Saturday morning.
Check out photos from this year’s event below. We’ll add more as the weekend progresses.
Related...
Artist Makes Giant Patchwork Hot Air Balloons From Recycled Bags
Street Art Of Lisa Simpson And Women's Rights Take Center Stage At Bristol’s Upfest 2018
The Most Spectacular Photos From The Bristol International Balloon Fiesta 2018
Also on HuffPost
Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.
This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
