The largest hot air balloon festival in the world recently took place in the south-western United States.
Hot on the heels of popular UK events that offered hot air balloon rides, like the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta, the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta kicked off in dramatic style with a mass balloon launch.
Over the course of the nine-day festival, hundreds of balloons took to the New Mexico skies, exciting the thousands of visitors who attended the popular balloon event. Altogether, the colourful air show was said to have been a success.
The festival’s first official event was the Aloft programme, which featured a number of pilots inflating their balloons at around 60 public schools in the area, which was said to be much to the delight of the city’s school children. The aim of this scheme was to increase awareness of hot air balloons and their mechanics amongst local pupils.
Each morning of the festival, a number of colourful balloons were launched into the bright Albuquerque skies, and there were firework shows on several nights during the event. There was also a Krispy Kreme-sponsored morning glow event, which took place at 6.30am on Saturday 4th.
However, the highlight of the hot air balloon festival was reportedly the mass ascension, which saw hundreds of balloons launched into the sky. This event drew in crowds into the tens of thousands, who all eagerly watched as the skies filled with balloons of various colours and shapes.
