WHot air balloon festivals are held annually in many places throughout the year, allowing hot air balloons operators to gather- as well as for the general public- to participate in various activities. They can include races; evening "night glows", or "glowdeos", in which balloons are fired while remaining tethered to the ground; and rides.
WThe Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is a yearly hot air balloon festival that takes place in Albuquerque, New Mexico, during early October. The Balloon Fiesta is a nine-day event occurring in the first full week of October, and has over 500 hot air balloons each year far from its humble beginnings of merely 13 balloons in 1972. The event is the largest balloon festival in the world, followed by the Grand Est Mondial Air in France.
WBalloons over Waikato is an annual hot air balloon festival held in Hamilton, New Zealand since 1999 by the non-profit organization Balloons over Waikato Trust. The event spans five days during autumn and attracts both local and overseas balloonists. The Festival is held primarily at Innes Common, at Hamilton Lake, which gets an estimated 130,000 visitors during the festival. The highlight of the festival, the "Night glow" is held at the University of Waikato where an estimated 80,000+ people attend to watch the lighting of balloons putting on a spectacular glow to music.
WThe Bristol national Balloon Festival is held annually in England. Teams from the UK and other parts of the world bring their hot air balloons to the site and participate in mass ascents where as many as 100 balloons may launch at a time.
WThe Canberra Balloon Spectacular, formerly known as Canberra Balloon Festival, is an annual hot air balloon festival that takes place at the lawns of the old Parliament House in Canberra, Australia. Each year in March, approximately 50 hot air balloons launch daily at dawn over the two week festival from the forecourt of Old Parliament House and float over Canberra.
WThe European Balloon Festival is the largest hot air balloon festival in Spain, and one of the largest in Europe. It takes place every year during the first fortnight of July in Igualada, Catalonia, Spain, a city located within 60 km from Barcelona.
WFerrara Balloons Festival is a yearly hot air balloon festival that takes place in Ferrara, Italy and is considered to be one of the largest festivals of hot air ballooning in Europe, with numerous teams from Italy and other parts of the world bringing their traditional or uniquely shaped aircraft. It lasts for ten days.
WThe Gatineau Hot Air Balloon Festival is an annual festival held in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada, and organized by a not-for-profit organization, during which hot air balloons of every shape and colour are flown and where 300 shows and performances adding up to over 60 hours’ worth of programming are taking place. More than 200,000 visitors and 1,000 RVs usually participate. It is held over four days in late-August and early September during the Labor Day Weekend.
WThe Gordon Bennett Cup is the world's oldest gas balloon race, and is "regarded as the premier event of world balloon racing" according to the Los Angeles Times. Referred to as the "Blue Ribbon" of aeronautics, the first race started from Paris, France, on September 30, 1906. The event was sponsored by James Gordon Bennett Jr., the millionaire sportsman and owner of the New York Herald newspaper. According to the organizers, the aim of the contest "is simple: to fly the furthest distance from the launch site." The contest ran from 1906 to 1938, interrupted by World War I and in 1931, but was suspended in 1939 when the hosts, Poland, were invaded at the start of World War II. The event was not resurrected until 1979, when American Tom Heinsheimer, an atmospheric physicist, gained permission from the holders to host the trophy. The competition was not officially reinstated by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) until 1983.
WThe International Balloon Festival of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu is the largest hot air balloon festival in Canada. It is held each August in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, about 40 minutes southeast of Montreal and about halfway between Montreal and Vermont.
WThe International Hot-Air Balloon Festival in Château-d'Oex is a hot-air balloons festival that has taken place every year during nine days at the end of January in Château-d'Œx, Switzerland since 1979. It is attended by nearly a hundred balloons from over twenty countries. It is famous for taking place in a snowy valley and also for a unique event : the "night-glow" show, where all the balloons are exposed on the mountain, lit by their burners, during the evening of the 7th day.
WThe Kentucky Derby Festival is an annual festival held in Louisville, Kentucky during the two weeks preceding the first Saturday in May, the day of the Kentucky Derby. The festival, Kentucky's largest single annual event, first ran from 1935 to 1937, and restarted in 1956 and includes:Thunder Over Louisville, the largest annual fireworks display in North America; the Great Balloon Race; The Great Steamboat Race, featuring the Belle of Louisville; the Pegasus Parade, one of the largest parades in the United States; and the Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon & miniMarathon. the Kentucky Derby Festival Basketball Classic
WThe London Hot-Air Balloon Festival was an annual hot-air balloon festival held in London, Ontario, Canada. The festival, which was held for the first time in 1984 and originally called the London Balloon Fiesta, used to take place in Harris Park at the forks of the Thames River during Simcoe Day weekend. The sponsor of the festival was Sundance Balloons. Spectators could get very close to the balloons, as there was no fixed barricades separating the launch area.
WThe Northampton Balloon Festival is an annual hot air balloon festival held in Northampton, England.
WThe Penang Hot Air Balloon Fiesta is an annual hot air balloon festival held within the city of George Town in Penang, Malaysia. The festival, organised by AKA Balloon Sdn Bhd, a Malaysian private limited firm, takes place every February at the city's Polo Ground.
WThe Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta is an annual four-day event held between January and February at the Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga. It is the biggest and longest-running aviation sports event in the Philippines.
WThe Saga International Balloon Fiesta is held at the beginning of November every year in Saga Prefecture, Japan. In 2014 it took place between October 30 and November 3.
WThe Saxonia International Balloon Fiesta is the third biggest hot-air balloon festival in Europe. Annually over 100,000 people visit the spectacle, which takes place in Leipzig (Germany) at the end of July.