Воздушные шары BBC One: История идентификации канала

The BBC One Balloon idents were a series of idents (station identifications) used on the British TV channel BBC One from 4 October 1997 to 28 March 2002. The balloon theme replaced the computer generated spinning globe that had been used as the main ident on the channel since 1991, and marked a radical departure from the traditional spinning globe which had been the channel's primary identity since 1963. It launched on the same day as a BBC wide rebrand, and thus the new idents also carried the new BBC logo. The channel's name also changed from BBC1 to BBC One. This was the last ident set used by the channel when it fully closed down; the last proper closedown took place in the evening hours of 8 November 1997. Starting the following evening, BBC News 24 (now the BBC News Channel) would broadcast on BBC One during closedown, which continues today. The hot air balloon featured in the idents was filmed on location. The balloon was built by Cameron Balloons in 1997 and made its first flight that year, flying from the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta. It made its final flight in August 2002, also at the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta, and was subsequently retired and placed into storage. The balloon's flight certificate from the Civil Aviation Authority expired on 17 July 2003. In March 2023, the balloon was taken out of storage, restored and reinflated. On 2 June, it was inflated for its first public tether at the Midlands Air Festival in Warwickshire by the Bristol Balloon Collectors, the balloon's new caretaker.

As part of a large relaunch of the BBC's corporate logo and the ident packages of BBC One and BBC Two, these new idents replaced the old virtual globe ident. London based design agency Lambie Nairn proposed new idents showcasing the balloons with the familiar globe design that would serve as "a visual metaphor underpinning the core thought: BBC One – bringing the whole world to every corner of the Nation." The balloon idents were designed by Lambie Nairn and the balloon was made in Bristol by Cameron Balloons. Its aircraft registration was "G IBBC". This score made these idents the first regular BBC One idents to use music since Abram Games's "Bat's Wings" ident. The new BBC logo, along with the channel name "ONE" immediately to its right, was overlaid at the bottom of the screen. The new logo design was an attempt to unify all the BBC's services and brands under a single logo design, with the idents expressing the BBC's desire to "[reach] out to all corners of the land." The new look also featured a clock, which used the same software and layout as before, and utilized the balloon canvas as the background. The clock was also retained following the change to widescreen. However, the software was changed so that the minute hand only moved once a minute, rather than every second as it had previously. Promotions and static captions both featured text and logos centred for widescreen use, with the BBC One logo at the bottom of the screen and a colour palette of mainly oranges and reds. However, colours varied according to the theme and programme. The use of static captions was reduced slightly but remained a key part of continuity links.

The original sequences were filmed over four months in 1997 at different locations around the United Kingdom.

On 1 November 2000, Lorraine Heggessey became controller of BBC One and immediately ordered a review of the channel's branding. In her opinion, the balloon was "slow and distant". On 29 March (Good Friday) 2002, after much speculation, the balloon idents were replaced as the icon of BBC One with a set of idents with the theme of Rhythm & Movement, making it the final motif of the globe logo for the channel after 39 years. English 12 was the final ident aired before BBC News 24 at 2.15 am in the late evening hours of 28 March 2002 on the England version of BBC One. Northern Ireland had a 35 second tribute of the idents before signing off. before being moved around different storage locations in the UK. It was inflated to test its condition in March 2023.

The idents were well received by viewers and have a loyal fan base to this day. The original pilot, Mark Lockwood, told the BBC in 2023 that the balloon was "iconic in its way."