Longleat's 75th anniversary celebrated with night glow

The 75th anniversary of a stately home being open to the public will be celebrated with a series of hot air balloon night glows.

The Icons of the Sky event at Longleat Safari Park will take place from 13 to 15 September and will include music from across eight decades.

A spitfire will also feature, as well as a host of hot air balloons of different shapes and sizes.

Scott Ashman, head of operations at Longleat, said: “Our 2024 event will be a 21st Century celebration of our heritage and pay homage to the history of flight."

“We will be opening from 7am each day of the event so people can marvel at a sunrise mass balloon launch, and we will be closing at 8.30pm after the air display, pyrotechnic air display, night glow and more," he added.

Choreographed to a specially selected soundtrack, the music will include Satisfaction from the Rolling Stones, who played at the estate in 1964 and I’m Still Standing from Sir Elton John who appeared in 2016 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Safari Park opening.

The hot air balloon flights are weather dependent and visitors will be updated via smoke signals on the ground and regular announcements.

Opened as a tourist attraction by the 6th Marquess of Bath on 1 April 1949, Longleat is now the home of the 8th Marquess and his family.

The event is also taking place two centuries after an early hot air balloon flight ended at Longleat.

In 1824 pioneering balloonist George Graham - who was married to Margaret, the country’s first female balloonist - landed a balloon in Longleat after taking off from Sydney Gardens in Bath.

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