THE CITY's first hot air balloon festival has been postponed because of a waterlogged field.

Organisers of Worcester Balloon Festival took the decision to postpone the event which was supposed to take place this weekend.

The festival will now take place on June 23 and 24.

The event organisers said the decision was made because the Worcester Racecourse is waterlogged and "could be slippery in places".

It follows a visit to the site by Worcester City Council and Worcester Racecourse.

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Worcester Balloon Festival said all tickets already purchased have been moved to the new date.

If visitors cannot make the new date in June, they have been told to request a refund through the ticket provider Skiddle.

A spokesperson for the festival said: "Many of you who have purchased tickets will be aware that we have postponed the Worcester Balloon Festival until June 23rd and 24th.

"We appreciate this is an inconvenience, therefore, there is an option to request a refund from Skiddle if you are unable to make the new dates.

"We cannot process refunds, and this must be done via Skiddle.

"The decision has been made following a Council and Racecourse site visit this morning.

"As a result of the rain and the forecast this week, it means the grounds are waterlogged and could be slippery in places.

"We want to provide the very best experience for everyone in Worcester and therefore have made the difficult decision to postpone until June 23rd and 24th to give the ground time to dry out.

"Please be patient as we have received a lot of messages and will do our best to get back to everyone.

"Tickets will be automatically moved to the new date, if you are unable to make that date please contact Skiddle who will refund you."