Following a fundraising campaign to bridge a £10K funding gap organisers have decided to go ahead with this year’s Bristol Kite festival after receiving pledges of more than three quarters of the required funding. Last month a campaign was launched inviting individuals and businesses to become Friends of the Festival to help secure its future after no sponsorship had been forthcoming.

The Bristol International Festival of Kites & Air Creations will take place on 12 & 13 September in Ashton Court, Bristol with Marie Curie Cancer Care as its nominated charity. On show will be an action packed aerial extravaganza featuring spectacular flying displays, kite fighting battles, breathtaking synchronised routines flown to music and awesome power kites as well as colourful ground-based inflatables and air sculptures of all shapes and sizes. International kite guests will be winging their way from across the world to join flyers and enthusiasts from the UK and Europe. This year the festival will also be celebrating the 21st anniversary of festival co-founder Martin Lester’s iconic jogging legs kite and the 20th anniversary of local club Avon Kite Flyers.

Over the past few weeks small donations have been coming in from individuals locally, flyers from around the world and from online auctions of custom kites but the turning point came with a generous offer from the Al Farsi family of Kuwait, owners of the world’s largest kite.

Their colossal kite, in the shape of a 3D Kuwaiti flag, made its public debut at Bristol & Portsmouth Kite festivals in 2004 and went on to set the official World Record the following year. The Al Farsi’s kite team has since displayed their striking big kite, equivalent in size to an Olympic swimming pool, at events and festival around the world including returning to Bristol in 2005 and 2006.

Abdulraman Al Farsi will make a special visit to Bristol on Monday 20 July to officially meet the Lord Mayor and be thanked by the festival team.

Avril Baker, festival organiser said: “I am so pleased that we can finally confirm that the Festival is going ahead. The past few weeks have been a real emotional roller coaster as we just didn’t know if we could secure the funds to go ahead and I was dreading the prospect of cancelling and letting down so many people. Since we launched our appeal we have been amazed by the many wonderful messages of good will but this donation by the Al Farsi family has really been the deciding factor and we are really very grateful to them for their generosity. We do still need to raise the last few thousand pounds but I am confident now that we will make our target and can put on a really good festival as planned.”

Abdulraman Al Farsi said: “I have never forgotten the warm welcome we received when we first brought the big kite to Bristol five years ago. Bristol is a wonderful festival and an important event in the international kite calendar and I am delighted to be able to help secure its future.”

For more information visit http://www.kite-festival.org.uk.