{"id":167100,"date":"2024-11-22T13:27:18","date_gmt":"2024-11-22T04:27:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/?post_type=news&#038;p=167100&#038;lang=en"},"modified":"2024-11-22T13:27:18","modified_gmt":"2024-11-22T04:27:18","slug":"saga-refund-12-million-balloon-festa-stall","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/en\/news\/saga-refund-12-million-balloon-festa-stall\/","title":{"rendered":"Saga City to Refund \u00a512 Million in Balloon Festa Stall Fees After Weather Cancellations"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Saga City has announced that it will refund approximately \u00a512 million in stall fees to vendors affected by the cancellation of the Saga International Balloon Festa due to heavy rain. While the event\u2019s regulations typically do not allow refunds for weather-related cancellations, Mayor Hidetaka Sakai explained that this decision was made as an extraordinary measure to ensure the festival\u2019s sustainability in the future.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The event, scheduled from October 31 to November 4 along the Kase River, was canceled starting November 1 after the site faced potential flooding following heavy rain. Only two balloon competitions\u2014on the afternoon of October 31 and the morning of November 4\u2014were held. The festival otherwise featured no activities or vendor participation during the remaining days.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The refund applies to 151 stalls in the &#8220;Ikoi no Hiroba&#8221; area north of JR Balloon Saga Station, managed by the event\u2019s organizing committee. Stall fees ranged from \u00a514,000 to \u00a5350,000 depending on the location and business type. Saga City will cover the refunds using reserve funds, leading to a \u00a514 million deficit, including lost revenue from parking fees and damage to event infrastructure such as flooded containers and collapsed tents due to strong winds. <\/span><b>Source:<\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/www3.nhk.or.jp\/lnews\/saga\/20241121\/5080018411.html#:~:text=%E5%A4%A7%E9%9B%A8%E3%82%84%E9%A2%A8%E3%81%AE%E5%BD%B1%E9%9F%BF,%E3%81%93%E3%81%A8%E3%82%92%E6%B1%BA%E3%82%81%E3%81%BE%E3%81%97%E3%81%9F%E3%80%82\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">NHK<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/fn_2023-saga-international-balloon-festa_2024_WEB-001.jpeg?resize=1400%2C1050&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"2024 Saga International Balloon Fiesta, 2024\u4f50\u8cc0\u30a4\u30f3\u30bf\u30fc\u30ca\u30b7\u30e7\u30ca\u30eb\u30d0\u30eb\u30fc\u30f3\u30d5\u30a7\u30b9\u30bf\" width=\"1400\" height=\"1050\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-166049\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/fn_2023-saga-international-balloon-festa_2024_WEB-001.jpeg?w=1400&amp;ssl=1 1400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/fn_2023-saga-international-balloon-festa_2024_WEB-001.jpeg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/fn_2023-saga-international-balloon-festa_2024_WEB-001.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/fn_2023-saga-international-balloon-festa_2024_WEB-001.jpeg?resize=768%2C576&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Stay informed with the latest Fukuoka &amp; Kyushu news and events in English. Sign up for our <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/en\/mailmagazine\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">free weekly newsletter <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">today and never miss a beat. Opt out anytime, your privacy is our priority. Get the inside scoop with <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/en\/mailmagazine\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Now<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Summaries based on public content, errors may occur during translation. Images credited independently. Send feedback using <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/en\/contact\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">this <\/span><b>form<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Saga City has announced that it will refund approximately \u00a512 million in stall fees to vendors affected by&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29305,"featured_media":166049,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","tags":[],"class_list":["post-167100","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","location-saga-city","news-category-general","en-US"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/167100","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29305"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=167100"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/166049"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=167100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=167100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}