Video: A Celebration Turned into a Disaster: "Balloonfest '86" Photographed by Thom Sheridan
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
In 1986, the administration of Cleveland (USA, Ohio) proved once and for all that even such a seemingly harmless thing as a festive and frivolous balloon, if used unwisely, can lead to a real disaster.
It all started with a commendable, but not too thoughtful initiative to arrange a fun holiday for the entire city, and at the same time break the world record for the simultaneous release of balloons filled with helium. Photographer Thom Sheridan captured this beautiful, yet unfortunate event on film.
Balloonfest '86 began with a million and a half balloons inflated with helium and collected under a giant net. It was organized by the United Way Foundation as a charity event, but the chaos that the launch ultimately resulted in caused more destruction than donations were raised.
It all went wrong from the start. Due to the weather forecast, which foreshadowed the storm, the organizers were forced to release the balloons earlier than planned. The rain that began to wet the balls, which is why they began to fall to the ground without bursting.
They covered the surface of Lake Erie, interfering with the work of the Coast Guard, which was in the middle of an operation to find and rescue two people who were in the water after their boat capsized. Their bodies were discovered much later.
The wind knocked the balls into large clouds, which blocked the view of the rescuers on the helicopters. It is said that one of the rescuers later explained the failure of the mission by the fact that the head of a drowning person is almost impossible to distinguish from a floating ball.
The balls also scared some expensive racing horses. Their owners subsequently won a series of lawsuits, forcing the organizers to pay the damages they suffered from the injuries sustained by the animals.
Finally, despite being made from biodegradable latex, the balloons have long been a perennial headache for city utilities and local farmers.
So, the Korean artist Nina Jun is not so wrong when she makes "balloons" that will never fly away.
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