#39: BalloonFest ‘86

Ah, BalloonFest 1986. This publicity stunt started off innocently enough but went horribly, terribly wrong. The nonprofit United Way had the brilliant idea of setting a new world record by launching almost 1.5 million balloons into the air. Reading this in 2023, most of us would be able to predict that this was a bad idea. But, the event was for charity, and many people in 1986 Cleveland thought, “Why not!”

The giant glob of balloons was released at 1:50 PM on September 27, 1986. As a million balloons drifted over Cleveland’s Public Square, chaos ensued. The balloons essentially shut down the city, causing the airport and roadways to shut and clogging local waterways. Two people indirectly died because of the stunt because the balloons interfered with a Coast Guard’s search for two boaters.