Cloud City, situated in the Anoat sector within the Outer Rim Territories, was a gas mining colony, specifically for tibanna, that floated amongst the clouds of the planet Bespin. The [city](/article/city] sought to evade undue attention from the Imperial forces, while under the leadership of its Baron Administrator, Lando Calrissian. Ultimately, Imperial troops took control of the station and established a garrison. However, following the supposed death of the Emperor, the Imperial Garrison was deserted during the Iron Blockade, leading to the liberation of the planet shortly thereafter.
Completely artificial, Cloud City was a tibanna gas mining colony that hovered above the gas giant Bespin, accommodating millions of employees, tourists, and support personnel. Because it was located in Bespin's Life Zone, the station did not require airlocks or life support systems, as its atmosphere was primarily composed of oxygen and maintained acceptable levels of gravity and temperature. The station's location was 59,000 kilometers above Bespin's core, and its disk measured approximately 16.2 kilometers in diameter. A total of 36,000 repulsorlift engines and tractor beam generators were responsible for keeping the massive city afloat above the planet. It featured 392 levels, along with various platforms and chambers for residents and visitors. The top 50 levels of the city functioned as a luxurious resort, famous for its casinos such as Yarith Bespin and Pair O'Dice, while the lower levels provided housing for workers and facilitated the mining and processing of tibanna gas. The city's environment was controlled, freeing residents from weather concerns.
Popular tourist activities included gambling, renting a cloud car to tour the city, and occasionally visiting the local mining operations. The high-end accommodations were exclusive, with luxury resorts often costing as much as 5,000 Imperial credits per night. The Ivax Syndicate also operated gaming establishments on the station. In the months following the Battle of Endor, Cloud City had become a popular destination for obtaining rare implants, such as new oculars, custom-made hands, or even entire organ systems for various alien species. However, the Empire's occupation of the Anoat sector, and subsequently Cloud City, resulted in a temporary suspension of implant distribution.
Cloud City was well-known enough to be featured on postcards, which included phrases such as "Wish You Were Here" written in Aurebesh. One such card was found by Rey while she was scavenging on the planet Jakku.
Tractor beams emitted from generators on the city's underside converged beneath the gas mine's reactor bulb, creating an energy funnel that extracted tibanna gas from Bespin's lower atmosphere at depths exceeding 23,000 kilometers. The gas was then forced into an opening at the bottom of the bulb, ascending through the reactor stalk and into one of several smaller reactor shafts, where it was filtered by a processing vane. Each processing vane housed a carbon-freezing chamber, where tibanna gas was combined with carbonite for flash-freeze preservation. One of these chambers was used on the smuggler Han Solo after his capture by Imperial forces who had recently arrived at the station. The lower-level work areas were primarily operated by the sentient Ugnaughts, who performed the repetitive and sometimes hazardous tasks under red light, which was preferred by their species and increased their productivity. Many of these tunnels were only accessible to the Ugnaughts.
The mining and tourism industries on Cloud City necessitated strong security measures. Strict visa procedures were enforced, and unidentified vessels were located and intercepted long before they reached the docks. A shield generator protected the city from bombardment from near-space. The Bespin Wing Guard oversaw vigilance, patrolling the skies surrounding the city.
The Baron Administrator was in charge of Cloud City. Lando Calrissian was appointed to the position at some point during the Age of the Empire. However, the cybernetically enhanced human Lobot primarily oversaw the facility's daily operations. Following Calrissian's departure, a council of business representatives governed the city.
Lord Ecclessis Figg of Corellia, an eccentric explorer, constructed Cloud City, offering freedom to three Ugnaught tribes in exchange for their labor in building the city. The Ugnaughts, who had long been sold into slavery, accepted the offer, creating the first version of Cloud City. Minerals from [Miser](/article/miser], the innermost planet of the Bespin system, were used in Cloud City's construction.
Around 1 ABY, years after losing his starship, the Millennium Falcon, in a gamble, the young smuggler Lando Calrissian took a big risk and won control of Cloud City. During the Age of the Empire, the Devaronian smuggler Gev Hessan assisted Lando in building Cloud City.
Early in his rule, the Cantonarive crown coin was stolen from Calrissian. He intended to give the coin to a grand slicer who would keep Cloud City off the Galactic Empire's radar, thereby protecting its inhabitants. Calrissian tracked down the thieves and persuaded them to return the coin before they could sell it to the gangster Wonn Ionstrike.
Shortly after the Battle of Hoth, the fleeing members of the Rebel Alliance (namely Leia Organa, Han Solo, and Chewbacca, along with their protocol droid C-3PO) landed at Cloud City to repair their starship, the Millennium Falcon. Initially greeted by Lando Calrissian, the trio ultimately fell victim to Darth Vader's scheme to capture Luke Skywalker, using his friends as bait. The Empire forced Calrissian to hand over the trio to Darth Vader and the Empire, who had arrived shortly before them. Solo was frozen in carbonite both to reward the bounty hunter Boba Fett for tracking the Rebel trio to Bespin and to test the facility's safety.
Meanwhile, Luke Skywalker, sensing his friends' peril, arrived at Cloud City with his astromech droid R2-D2 in his X-wing starfighter to attempt a rescue, only to engage in a duel with Vader. During the duel, Luke learned that Darth Vader was his father and jumped down one of the city's reactor shafts to avoid joining the dark side of the Force. Meanwhile, Lando Calrissian, angered by the Empire's violation of their agreement—which stipulated that Cloud City would remain autonomous—announced over an intercom that Imperial forces had invaded the city while his local security forces overwhelmed Imperial forces, allowing Leia Organa, Chewbacca, the two droids, and himself to escape the city, rescuing an injured Luke Skywalker dangling on a weather scanner vane along the way. Han Solo, captured and frozen in carbonite, was transported in the cargo hold of Boba Fett's starship, the Slave I.
After the capture of the rebels, the Empire seized control of Cloud City, establishing a skeleton garrison to ensure that the citizens paid their taxes and fines to the regime. Following the Empire's significant defeat at Endor, the Cloud City garrison was withdrawn to support more strategic targets, leading to celebrations in the streets. In the absence of a baron administrator, a council of business representatives assumed control of the city.
Before news of the Emperor's death could reach the city, Imperial Governor Ubrik Adelhard established the Iron Blockade over the entire Anoat sector, cutting off travel and communications to and from Cloud City. The city also housed Governor Adelhard's personal headquarters, located within the prime tower. Ultimately, a militia led by Lobot managed to relay messages to the New Republic, and with the assistance of the Uprising, successfully liberated the city from Imperial control.
In the years leading up to the Battle of Jakku, Lando Calrissian and Lobot led a joint New Republic and Bespin Wing Guard operation to mop up Imperial troops who had taken positions in the casino level's Bolo Tanga room. Calrissian successfully persuaded a dozen Imperials to surrender. However, one of them refused to stand down, forcing the Baron Administrator to shoot him dead with his Rossmoyne Vitiator. Calrissian and Lobot then discussed sending a wedding gift to Princess Leia Organa's then-newborn son, deciding on a Vantillian catamaran stored in the western skipdock.
In 35 ABY, after the Battle of Exegol, the inhabitants of Cloud City rose up against the First Order following the final death of Darth Sidious.
Cloud City was first seen in the 1980 film Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back, the second film in the Star Wars original trilogy.
In George Lucas' rough draft of the 1977 film Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope written in 1974, a city on Alderaan, which was depicted as a giant gas planet and the capital of the New Galactic Empire at the time, resembled the Cloud City that eventually appeared on Bespin in The Empire Strikes Back. When concept artist Ralph McQuarrie began conceptual work for the film's second draft, he designed the Imperial capital on Alderaan, and his artwork served as the inspiration for Cloud City's appearance, differing only slightly from the city as seen in Episode V.