In the early hours of one Sunday this June, the skies of central London will throng with up to 50 hot air balloons, taking colourful flight across the city. Hopefully.
Every summer, the Lord Mayor's Hot Air Balloon Regatta, organised by Exclusive Ballooning, invites balloonists to launch their colourful orbs above the city, raising awareness of the Lord Mayor's Appeal.
The standby dates for 2019 are the following Sundays in June: 2, 9, 16, 30. [Update: the 2 June date was stood down, so 9 June is now the next date when this might happen.]
All being well, up to 50 hot air balloons will take off from Battersea Park, gifting early risers with one of the photo opportunities of the year,
But it's not always plain sailing. In 2018, the event was eventually cancelled, after dates were continually postponed throughout the summer.
We'll be hoping for a repeat of 2017, when 27 balloons took flight from London City Airport, and we were lucky enough to be in one of them:
