New dates revealed after Worcester's first ever Balloon Festival is postponed due to wet weather

WORCESTER’S much-anticipated first ever Balloon Festival will now take place on June 23 and 24, organisers have revealed.

The countdown to the colourful celebrations was halted on Tuesday (May 9) due to a waterlogged Worcester Racecourse.

All tickets purchased for the original event – scheduled for this weekend – have been transferred to the new dates, although refunds can be obtained from the Skiddle ticket website.

There is a time-frame on being able to request refunds.

Organisers had hoped more than 50 balloonists would be able to take to the skies over the Faithful City this weekend.

But their hopes were dashed during a visit to the racecourse on Tuesday to be greeted with lots of surface water.

Despite making changes to the layout in a bid to go ahead as planned, further torrential rain forced organisers into a postponement.

“As a result of this and the forecast this week, it means the grounds are waterlogged and could be slippery in places,” a statement read.

“We are an inclusive event and understand the impact this might have on some of our attendees with mobility issues.

“As well as this we want to provide the very best experience for everyone in Worcester and therefore have made the difficult decision to postpone

“We appreciate the support from the community and hope they will still be able to join us in June, as organisers this is never an easy decision but one that is necessary given the forecast.”