View source for Balloonfest '86

{{Short description|Fundraising event in Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2023}}{{Use American English|date=April 2023}}
{{Infobox event
| title = Balloonfest '86
| image =
| image_size =
| caption =
| date = {{Start date and age|1986|9|27}}
| time = Around 1:50 PM [[Eastern Time Zone|EDT]]
| place = [[Public Square, Cleveland|Public Square]], [[Cleveland]], [[Ohio]], U.S.
| coordinates = {{Coord|41|29|59|N|81|41|38|W|region:US-OH_type:event|display=inline,title}}
| outcome = {{ubl
| World record for simultaneous release of balloons<ref name="clevelandcom811" />
}}
| reported property damage = Multiple traffic collisions
| reported injuries = Multiple horses
| litigation = 2 lawsuits
| awards =
| organizers = [[United Way of America|United Way]] of Cleveland
}}
'''Balloonfest '86''' was an event in [[Cleveland]], [[Ohio]], United States, held on September 27, 1986, in which the local chapter of [[United Way]] set a [[world record]] by [[balloon release|releasing]] almost 1.5 million [[balloon]]s.<ref name=summer>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cywLAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA65|title=Cleveland Summertime Memories: A Warm Look Back|first=Gail Ghetia |last=Bellamy|year=2013|publisher=Gray & Company|isbn=1938441508|page=65}}</ref>
The event was intended to be a harmless [[fundraising]] [[publicity stunt]]. However, the released balloons drifted back over the city and [[Lake Erie]] and landed in the surrounding area, causing problems for traffic and a nearby airport. The event also interfered with a [[United States Coast Guard]] search for two boaters who were later found drowned.<ref name="clevelandcom811">{{cite news |author=Kroll, John |date=August 15, 2011 |title=Balloonfest 1986, the spectacle that became a debacle: Cleveland Remembers (video) |work=[[The Plain Dealer]] |url=http://www.cleveland.com/remembers/index.ssf/2011/08/balloonfest_1986_the_spectacle.html |accessdate=March 15, 2014}}</ref> In consequence, the organizers faced lawsuits seeking millions of dollars in damages,<ref name="clevelandcom811" /> and cost overruns put the event at a net loss.<ref name="michael" />
==Preparations==
[[File:Tower City.jpg|right|thumb|[[Terminal Tower]] overlooking [[Public Square, Cleveland|Public Square]]]]
Balloonfest '86 was coordinated by a [[Los Angeles]]-based company headed by Treb Heining, Balloonart by Treb, which spent six months preparing for the event. A rectangular structure the size of a city block was set up to hold the balloons on the southwest quadrant of Cleveland's [[Public Square, Cleveland|Public Square]]. It measured {{convert|250|by|150|ft|m}}, was three stories high and was covered with a one-piece net of woven mesh material.<ref name=summer/><ref name=michael/><ref name=huff/> Inside, 2,500 volunteers, consisting largely of high school students, spent many hours filling the balloons with [[helium]]. One described the preparations as "like an assembly line, non-stop." Volunteers received free T-shirts.<ref name="clevelandcom811" /><ref name=michael/><ref name="wews813">{{cite news |author=Livingston, Tom |date=August 8, 2013 |title=Video Vault: Cleveland's 1986 Balloonfest, the world record that went bust |publisher=[[WEWS-TV|WEWS]] |url=http://www.newsnet5.com/news/news-archives/video-vault-clevelands-1986-balloonfest-the-world-record-that-went-bust |url-status=dead |accessdate=March 15, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151018115119/http://www.newsnet5.com/news/news-archives/video-vault-clevelands-1986-balloonfest-the-world-record-that-went-bust |archive-date=October 18, 2015}}</ref>
[[United Way]] originally planned to release two million balloons, but eventually stopped at over 1.4 million.<ref name=huff/> Children sold sponsorships to benefit United Way at the price of $1 {{USDCY|1|1986}} for every two balloons.<ref name=huff>{{cite web |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/24/millions-of-balloons-cleveland_n_5206936.html|title=Releasing 1.5 Million Balloons Into The Air Is A Bad Idea|first=Simon |last=McCormack|date=April 24, 2014|accessdate=May 4, 2014|work=[[The Huffington Post]]}}</ref>
==Launch==
On Saturday, September 27, 1986, with a rainstorm approaching, organizers decided on an early release of the balloons at about 1:50&nbsp;p.m. [[Eastern Time Zone|EDT]]. A crowd of over 100,000 gathered in [[downtown Cleveland]] for the event.<ref name=wjw2021>{{cite news |last=Stratford |first=Suzanne |title=Balloonfest '86: 35 years since downtown Cleveland event turned disastrous |url=https://fox8.com/news/balloonfest-86-35-years-since-downtown-cleveland-event-turned-disastrous/ |work=[[WJW (TV)|WJW-TV]] |agency=[[Nexstar Media Group|Nexstar]] Media Wire |date=September 27, 2021}}</ref> Close to 1.5 million balloons rose up from Public Square, surrounding [[Terminal Tower]] and surpassing a world record set the previous year on the 30th anniversary of [[Disneyland]].<ref name="clevelandcom811" />
==Consequences==
Typically, a helium-filled [[latex]] balloon that is released outdoors will stay aloft long enough to be almost fully deflated before it descends to Earth.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Burchette |first=D. K |date=July 29, 1989 |title=Balloon HQ Presents: Balloon Releases and the Environment |url=https://www.balloonhq.com/faq/deco_releases/release_study.html |access-date=April 15, 2018 |website=Balloon HQ}}</ref> However, the Balloonfest balloons collided with a [[weather front|front]] of cool air and rain, which caused them to drop towards the ground while still inflated. The descending balloons clogged the land and waterways of [[Northeast Ohio]]. In the days following the event, many balloons were reported washed ashore on the Canadian side of [[Lake Erie]], causing [[water pollution]].<ref name="wews813" /> Some people had misconceptions about the environmental impact of balloon releases, thinking that "the balloons would reach an altitude where they popped and disintegrated."<ref name=wjw2021/>
[[Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport|Burke Lakefront Airport]] had to shut down a runway for half an hour after balloons landed there.<ref name="clevelandcom811" /><ref name=michael>{{cite web |url=http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2011/09/twenty-five_years_ago_thousand.html|title=25 years ago, thousands watched a balloon launch on Public Square|first=Michael|last=O'Malley|work=The Plain Dealer|date=September 26, 2011|accessdate=May 5, 2014}}</ref> Traffic collisions were also reported "as drivers swerved to avoid slow motion blizzards of multicolored orbs or took their eyes off the road to gawk at the overhead spectacle."<ref name=michael/>
Two fishermen, Raymond Broderick and Bernard Sulzer, who had gone out on September 26, were reported missing by their families on the day of the event. Rescuers spotted their {{convert|16|ft|adj=on}} boat anchored west of the Edgewater Park [[Breakwater (structure)|breakwall]]. A [[United States Coast Guard|Coast Guard]] search and rescue helicopter crew had difficulties reaching the area because of the "asteroid field" of balloons.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://gizmodo.com/that-time-cleveland-released-1-5-million-balloons-and-c-1565731191|title=That Time Cleveland Released 1.5 Million Balloons and Chaos Ensued|first=Jordan|last=Kushins|date=April 22, 2014|accessdate=May 5, 2014|publisher=[[Gizmodo]]}}</ref> A search-and-rescue boat crew tried to spot the fishermen floating in the lake, but Guard officials said balloons in the water made it impossible to see whether anyone was in the lake.  On September 29, the Coast Guard suspended its search. The fishermen's bodies subsequently washed ashore. The wife of one of the fishermen sued the United Way of Cleveland and the company that organized the balloon release for $3.2 million, and later settled on undisclosed terms.<ref name="clevelandcom811" /> Roger Rice, Search and Rescue Program Manager for [[Coast Guard District 9]], said in a 2024 interview that "Balloonfest did not have anything to do with the unfortunate deaths of both these men".<ref>{{cite news |last=Quinn |first=Chris |date=2024-05-25 |title=The complete and true story of Cleveland’s 1986 Balloonfest: Letter from the Editor |url=https://www.cleveland.com/news/2024/05/for-your-holiday-viewing-pleasure-we-give-you-complete-and-true-story-of-clevelands-1986-balloonfest-letter-from-the-editor.html |access-date=2024-05-31 |work=The Plain Dealer}}</ref>
Balloons landing on a pasture in [[Geauga County, Ohio]], spooked a resident's [[Arabian horses]], which allegedly suffered permanent injuries as a result. The resident sued the United Way of Cleveland for $100,000 in damages and settled for undisclosed terms.<ref name="clevelandcom811" />
The fundraiser lost money due to cost overruns.<ref name="michael" />
==Legacy==
The 1988 edition of [[Guinness World Records|''The Guinness Book of World Records'']] recognizes the event as a world record "largest ever mass balloon release", with 1,429,643 balloons launched.<ref>{{cite book |year=1987 |title=1988 Guinness Book of World Records |page=[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.115614/page/n694 438] |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.115614 |publisher=[[Sterling Publishing]] |location=New York |isbn=9780806965994 |oclc=18803488 |via=[[The Internet Archive]] |accessdate=July 8, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=October 1, 2011 |title=Claim to world record for 'Balloonfest '86' is not all hot air: Michael K. McIntyre's Tipoff |language=en-US |work=Cleveland.com |url=https://www.cleveland.com/tipoff/index.ssf/2011/10/claim_to_world_record_for_ball.html |access-date=November 13, 2018}}</ref> Guinness no longer measures balloon releases.<ref name=pd2023>{{cite news|first=Chris|last=Quinn|title=Where truth ends and fake news begins on Cleveland's 1986 Balloonfest: Letter from the Editor|url=https://www.cleveland.com/news/2023/06/where-truth-ends-and-fake-news-begins-on-clevelands-1986-balloonfest-letter-from-the-editor.html|work=The Plain Dealer|date=June 24, 2023|access-date=June 26, 2023}}</ref>
Balloonfest '86 was the subject of the 2017 short documentary film ''[[Balloonfest]]''.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Buder |first1=Emily |date=June 12, 2018 |title=Cleveland Balloonfest '86: A Short Film By Nathan Truesdell |language=en |work=The Atlantic |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/562556/cleveland-balloonfest/}}</ref> The editor of Cleveland newspaper ''[[The Plain Dealer]]'' notes that after its release, reporting on the Balloonfest became more negative.<ref name=pd2023/>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*{{Vimeo|id=223715406|title=Balloonfest}}
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0CT8zrw6lw "The Doomed Cleveland Balloonfest of '86"] on [[YouTube]]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIM-pJP5A0o The Internet Lied To Us About BalloonFest 1986] on YouTube (May 25, 2024, documentary by [[The Plain Dealer|Cleveland.com]])
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XV6Jz3Xg18 Ohio's 1986 Balloon Disaster] on YouTube
{{Cleveland}}
[[Category:1980s in Cleveland]]
[[Category:1986 in Ohio]]
[[Category:Balloons]]
[[Category:Events in Cleveland]]
[[Category:September 1986 events in the United States]]
[[Category:Publicity stunts]]
[[Category:1986 controversies in the United States]]