January 2000
Coca-Cola HotAir BalloonCount-
downto2000isaneventthatbrings
ballooningandBoise, Idaho to the atten-
tionof the world. ABC World News To-
night calls the countdown “the most unique
millenniumcountdownhappeningany-
where inthe country.”
Picture this: 60 hotair balloons, one
for eachsecond of the lastminute of the
cen tury,aNit e-Glowextravagan za,
stretchingfromtheBoiseDepottothe
StateCapitol;peopleliningthestreets,
torches andexcitement in hand; children
perched on shoulders waving at grandma
at home watching the Countdown on tele-
vision;theballoonsendingmillennial
greetingstopeopleinPeru,Malaysia,
Spain, Ethiopia, Mongolia.
10:00 P.M.NewYear’s Eve. The rigs
hauling the balloons moveinto place along
Capitol Boulevard: gear, nylon andweb-
bing,propanetanks,menandwomen,
excitedchatter,barkedord ers,cham-
pag ne— alo ng-h eldb alloo ningtradi-
tion—safelyheld,somewhere.They’re
ona tight deadline,there isnoroomfor
errorordawdling.Theworkisbrisk.
Cold.Thismoveisascarefullychoreo-
graphed a anythingin the celebrations.
11:30P.M.Theballoonsbeginto
inflate, each standing 40 to 80 feet tall, in
everycoloroftherainbow.Thisisthe
land of cheery giants. That sound magni-
fied times 60 bounces offthe building, the
pavement,skitters off into the night.
11:59P.M. The first balloon, a 140-
footCoke bottle firesup,thenthenext,
and then the next. TheCokeballoon grows
dark,but the line of lightisspeedingup
Capitol Boulevard, each balloon lighting
andgrowingdarkinturn,spearingthe
liant and stark against the night sky, flash
in procession, a journey to our next thou-
sandyears. Helicoptersloom inmid-air,
capturing theintenseblues,reds, and golds,
sending the images ofmoving light around
the world. We are aninternational event,
the star of the moment.
11:59:59.Eyesare ledupward.The
Spirit of Boise, the city’snew millennial
ballo on,an dtheCoca-Co laflagsh ip
emerge over the Boise skyline, dominat-
ing from their perch on top the of the Key
Bank building.
Midnight. The sky explodes, glitter-
ing,glimmeringbehindthe Capitol. The
whole communitysingsAuldLangSine
andswayswiththemusic.Noonewill
ever forget this countdown, norwhat they
felt,nor wheretheywerewhenthebal-
loonsturnedthe lastmillenniumtoward
the next.
TheCoca-ColaCompanyhasbeen
generouswithBoise.Notonlydidthey
sponsorthisevent, theygavethecount-
downclockperchedonCityHall.The
Companyisalsoreleasedthe8-ounce
contourbottles of Coke, thefull-powered,
full-flavoredCokes we rememberedand
loved as children. They were given away,
passing them out to people in the streets in
downtown Boise. As thecountdown,well,
counteddown,wetoastedthe night, the
city,eachother,ballooning,TheCoca-
Cola Company,theballoonists, the next
thousandyearswithicecoldCok es.
They’regoingtomake usstarsaswell.
TheCityofTreesCoca-ColaHotAir
BalloonCountdownto 2000will be fea-
turedinupcomingCokecommercials.
This is great stuff.
This event was not easy to pull off, a
risky endeavor. “The logistics are a night-
mare,”saidScottSpencerwhocoordi-
nated the event. “The cold weather makes
the equipment sluggish, it doesn’t want to
work in the cold. It’s hard on us too. Some
ofthe powerand telephonelines will have
tocome down.The lightsalongCapitol
willbe dimmedfor the event.
“Usually we’re in Ann Morrison Park
where there isplentyofroomtospread
out.OnCapitol, wewere all jammedin
together. Putting that many balloons in so
smallaspaceisrealtough. Insome in-
stances,theballoonsarewiderthanthe
road. Actually, firing up the balloons one
each second is the easiest part. the biggest
challenge was the weather: wewere think-
ingclear and coldand still. If it hadbeen
windyorsnowinghard,wewhathave
beeninbigtrouble.Godforbidthatit
would have rained.
“This event is huge. It was real easy
toinvite balloonist to come tothe Count-
down. They love a party; they love Boise.
We havea few new balloons.It’sillegal
for us tolift off from Capitol at night, in
thedarkandinthe cold.Butwe’re flew
too. We scheduledflying from the Boise
Towne Square Mall on the practice morn-
ings before the event. And, had a practice
run at dawn on Capitol Boulevard, flying
away afterward. On New Year’s Day, we
planned to bring ballooning to Boise with
launches from neighborhoods, parking lots,
parks all over town. We floated over Boise on
the first day of theNew Millennium.
“Thiskindofeventhasneverhap-
pened before,it’s not happening anywhere
else. We’re thrilled that the City of Boise
has given the sport of ballooning
The Coca-Cola Hot Air
Balloon Countdown to 2000
