How A Balloon Festival Ended The Lives Of Two People: The Tragic True Story
September 27th, 1986. It was supposed to be a wonderful day for Cleveland, Ohio. Thousands of local children gathered in downtown’s Public Square to help fill over a million balloons with helium, releasing them into a net spread above their heads. The giant net held tight to a surrounding structure, holding the balloons in place until the big moment the entire city was waiting for. Sure, the kids had bandaged fingers by the end and more than a few blisters, but it’d be worth it for a Guinness World Record and a sky full of color. Or would it?
They called it Balloonfest ’86, tacking on the year with the hopes that this might become an annual tradition. Organized by LA-based Balloonart by Treb, the event was set up as a way to fundraise for the United Way. They planned for 6 months for the event, taking weather patterns into account. Their plan was to release 2 million balloons over Cleveland, gaining a World Record in the process. Colorful balloons would fill the sky overhead, dazzling children and adults alike as thousands gathered to watch below. Oh what a sight!
But on the day of the event, the weather wasn’t quite working in their favor. They needed a clear day for this plan, yet an incoming rainstorm was approaching. Rather than consulting with their experts and canceling the balloons’ release, they decided to release them early. At 1:50 PM, filled with nearly 1.5 million multi-colored balloons, they cut the cords of the net holding them in place. Crowds cheered as they floated up to the sky, enveloping the nearby Terminal Tower skyscraper as they floated with the air current toward Lake Eerie.
That was the first indication of a problem. Most of the balloons were supposed to stay over downtown Cleveland. According to a local reporter, only 10% of the balloons were supposed to make it over Lake Eerie, but due to the weather, 60% landed in the water instead. And while balloons normally only fall back down to earth once they’ve completely deflated (even that would have been devastating for the local ecosystem), the bad weather had sent them back to ground and water while they were still filled. That’s where the tragedy comes in.
On the same morning as Balloonfest ’86, two men, Raymond Broderick and Bernard Sulzer, took their small boat on Lake Eerie to go fishing. Later, when they hadn’t come home, a search was called onto the water to find them. Unfortunately, because so many balloons were now floating in Lake Eerie, it was nearly impossible to spot two men in life jackets among them.
Broderick and Sulzer were found washed ashore days later. Many believed that they would have been saved on the day they went missing if only Balloonfest ’86 hadn’t littered the water. One of the men’s wives sued the United Way and Balloonart by Treb for $3.2 million and settled out of court.
This tragedy wasn’t the only negative consequence to the ill-fated Balloonfest. Downed balloons littered a woman’s field, spooking her horses and causing them permanent injuries. They covered the airfield, canceling flights. They were strewn over streets, causing traffic collisions. And the trash that ended up all over Ohio and even floated up into Canada was a massive issue.
“But the balloons that covered the lake and caused concerns on Saturday are no longer here today,” said local reporter Michelle Holden in the days after the event. “No one’s quite sure where they went, but at least they’re no longer posing a threat to fish and wildlife and they’re not littering the lake.” Considering the balloons weren’t actually cleaned up, it’s a bold assertion to think they’re no longer posing a threat to the local ecosystem.
In the end, Balloonfest ’86 got its Guinness World Record, but only briefly. They were listed in the 1988 Guinness Book of World Records for “Largest Ever Mass Balloon Release,” but it was later revoked. Guinness now disallows records they deem “environmentally unsound.”
You can see the balloon launch in a short documentary of Balloonfest ’86 below: