BalloonFest 1986: What Really Happened?

The truth about United Way’s BalloonFest 1986 charity event is completely different from what modern internet stories are saying. By interviewing the organizers of BalloonFest as well as people who took part in it, we discover what really happened after Cleveland students released 1.5 million helium balloons from Public Square.

We fact check the 5 most common beliefs about BalloonFest.

1. Did BalloonFest kill two boaters on Lake Erie?
2. Did BalloonFest cause many injuries and millions of dollars of property damage?
3. Was a massive cleanup effort required following BalloonFest?
4. Did lawsuits cost United Way all the money from the fundraiser, making it a net loss?
5. Did Guinness World Records take the balloon release category out of the book following this event in Cleveland? Did it even recognize BalloonFest as a world record?

Suspend your disbelief for a moment and hear what BalloonFest was really like for all the people who were part of it. What did this event do for the City of Cleveland, which was trying to reinvent itself? What did it mean to over 1,800 students who came together on September 27, 1986?

If BalloonFest became an urban legend in the internet age, it points to a deeper problem with how stories are shared online.

The Real Story of BalloonFest '86 begins with why United Way attempted the Guinness World Record in the first place. George Fraser, Treb Heining, Tom Holowach, Carol Horne and others take us back to Cleveland in the mid-1980s.

[conniemontgomery]

My husband and I had a motorcycle at that time and decided that we would go down to the Square and watch the balloon launch. We parked our motorcycle by the old stone church and sat there and watched it all, we were eager to leave when the weather turned a little dark because we would get soaking wet on our motorcycle. Happy to be there that day.

[stephenbrand]

This highlights a big problem with content creators on YouTube copying each other and just generally being lazy and sloppy about their research.

[Funkenstein]

Looking forward to the sequel video titled "The Internet Told the Truth About Ten Cent Beer Night".

[DougBardwell]

Excellent job with this video, John. Sharing your great work with family and friends. Thanks for setting the record straight.

[SilverAvalhadia]

Thank you for making this!
I've only watched two 10-mins video, but this sheds a way more positive light on the event!

:-)
Remember, always check stuff with multiple sources
Awesome that you've made this video

[AK-eyuy]

I had forgotten all about BalloonFest until videos started popping up on YouTube talking about what a "disaster" it was, that it caused the deaths of two fishermen, etc. I hope this video gains traction to counteract the misinformation.

[AJKPenguin]

POP
Goes the Urban Legend.

Release the Balloons forevermore!

[therealdrglocktapus]

very cool!!! saw something about it on IG it was a thread snipit so i couldn't read the tone of it. but i had to look it up when it said how many balloons lol

[JoeMillerloveoneanother]

Those who manipulate or run from the truth are in full denial and damaging beyond belief😢

[SynthD]

If it happened, you can be sure there’s a 40 minute video about it on YouTube.

[mikehunt]

what did they even think was the best case scenario? a million pieces of trash

[michaelfoxbrass]

At the time of posting this comment, (the 6th), this video debuted on YouTube approximately 8 hours ago.

It’s Saturday of Memorial Day weekend.

The video currently has 514 views.

I’m curious how many views it will receive today, over this Memorial Day weekend, and over the coming weeks, months, years.

Sadly, I’m thinking it will be FAR fewer than the negative, manipulative, and untruthful videos that created the persistent urban myth.

So how will we, the YouTube community, the NE Ohio community, the US and the world community, counter misinformation?

Where we commit our time, attention, and treasure, we commit our minds and bodies.

We become what we consume and do.

I pray we will all remember that no matter our background, we all live in a community, and a community is built on common purpose, common welfare, and common dignity.

Truth matters.
Kindness matters.
Love matters above all.

I pray that when we encounter the unkind, untruthful, and unloving, that we be granted discernment and wisdom to avoid consuming and distributing those things.

We are all in this together.

[courtneycourtney]

Love ideas best balloons show Evers. We need this in Florida. Balloons fest bring back

[philoshaughnessy]

You could say that all the myths were just hot air. Except there wasn't any of that either.

[MartenFerret]

Balloonfest was a huge concerted effort done by students and rich businessmen ...to spook a horse. ^_^

[charleskennedy]

Environmental damage would have been horrendous

[cryptothedawg]

I guess there was no corporate climate changers back then...This would have been Greta Tuneburg's hill to die on lol

[worldsgreatestdude]

This is probably the most Cleveland thing to ever happen in Cleveland. In all seriousness tho it’s really sad what happemed

[temped]

Cleveland was responsible for bad i fo about Cleveland? That's so Cleveland. 😂