RACE GUIDE
CREATING AN ACCOUNT
Before you can buy / gift / activate a balloon you must create an account here otherwise we do not know who you are if your balloon wins a brilliant prize! Each balloon costs just 3 GBP and you can buy as many balloons as you want to increase your chances of winning, and of course, indirectly donate more to Radio Lollipop.
RACE DETAILS
The Radio Lollipop virtual balloon race launches at 12pm on Friday 1st December 2023 from Harrods Department Store, London. You are advised to enter all your balloons by 11:30am at the latest to ensure all transactions go through smoothly. The race finishes at 12pm on Friday 8th December 2023.
Our advanced mathematical and physics algorithms use live weather data from meteorological group Aeris and balloon tracking is available 30 minutes after the race has started on Google maps and satellites.
100% ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY
Unlike a traditional latex balloon race, where the balloon can cause death or serious injury to wildlife and farm animals, our balloon race is 100% environmental and litter abuse friendly! Plus, with no actual balloon, string or label, and no helium gas either, it’s climate change positive too.
BUYING OR GIFTING BALLOONS
Sign in to go direct to your personal dashboard.
Click the [ buy / gift / activate ] button and the next screen will then give you 3 options.
[ Buy balloons for you | Buy activation codes to gift | Activate a gifted code ]
Click [ Buy balloons for you ] and buy as many balloons as you can afford.
Click [ Buy activation codes to gift ] and buy as many codes as you wish to give to friends and family. A code is the same as a balloon but prepaid and therefore free to the recipient. All the purchased codes will be sent directly to you by email for redistribution by any suitable method - email, text or WhatsApp, for example. Please ensure you use the person’s correct email address or telephone number as mistakes cannot be rectified
ACTIVATING A GIFTED CODE
If you are the lucky recipient of an activation code, you must first create an account here otherwise we don’t know who you are if you win. Signing in takes you directly to your dashboard. Click the [ buy / gift / activate ] button. The next screen will then give you 3 options.
[ Buy balloons for you | Buy activation codes to gift | Activate a gifted code ]
Enter your code in the [ Activate a gifted code ] field and click Activate. Repeat, if necessary, with more codes. Well done, a balloon has been added to your account and now appears in your dashboard.
CUSTOMISING YOUR BALLOON
Decorating
Sign in to go direct to your dashboard. Either click the [ edit balloon ] button or click on an individual balloon to decorate. Remember to save all your design and parameter changes by clicking the [ Save changes ] button at the top of the page.
Enhance your chances of winning
On your dashboard you can customise each balloon by changing various parameters, for example, balloon helium content; shape of balloon; thickness of rubber.
And reflecting real life, virtual balloons just like latex ones, can pop if the balloon parameters are not suited to the weather. For example, maximising helium content, having the fastest shape and thinnest rubber during stormy weather is not advisable. So, looking at the predicted weather forecast for your race period prior to customisation can help your chances of winning.
TRACKING BALLOONS
The 25 race leading balloons can be seen 24/7 during the race. Information shown includes the straight-line distance travelled in kilometres from the launch point, plus the balloon’s latitude and longitude. The button [ race leaders ] is found in the top bar.
To locate and track your balloons, Sign-in and go to your dashboard. Click on any individual balloon to check its progress around the globe.
WINNERS AND PRIZES
All races are 7 days in duration and the winning balloon is the one that has flown the furthest, as measured in a straight line from the launch location. Please note that a popped / burst balloon can still win if the wind direction changes and sends the still-flying balloons in the reverse direction.
The winner will be emailed with confirmation that they have won the race and with details of how to contact the organiser to arrange receiving their prize. To further comply with Gambling Commission rules, the winner will be asked a question not instantly researched or ‘Googled’.
Prizes for every race are publicised on the website homepage and are strictly not negotiable, may vary without notice, and no correspondence will be entered regarding them.