The event was first held in 1979, building on a strong local tradition of ballooning in and around Bristol, stretching back to the eighteenth century.

Many shapes have also attended the fiesta from abroad, over the years a UFO and a beaver have travelled from the US, a kiwi bird from New Zealand, and an upside down balloon from the Netherlands.

In the past, the fiesta used to be held in the second week of September, but due to cancellations of flights and the muddy ground because of bad weather, it has been moved in the start of August.

[4] The record was then broken a year later, when 90 balloons again landed in the former Cadbury's chocolate factory on 9 August.

[5] The Balloon Fiesta was cancelled during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, to avoid gathering crowds at Ashton Court.