Top 10 Most Amazing Festivals Around The World
6. Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, New Mexico, United States
It is the biggest hot air balloon festival in the world that take place in Albuquerque of New Mexico, held during early October since 1972. It is a nine day long event and around 600 balloons will be taking flight during the event. The balloon fiesta park covers a vast area of 365 acres and the launching filed alone encompasses 72 acres of land. It is the largest annual event in US and the most photographed event in the world. In 2011 Guinness Book of World Records recognized this event as mass hot air balloon ascent.
Albuquerque balloon fiesta offers rare opportunity for the guest to watch inflation and take off of ballooning from the launching filed. The first Albuquerque balloon event was took place in 1972. In fact it was a promotional event for 770 KOB Radio. Albuquerque balloon event features five different types of event known as dawn patrol, mass ascensions, artistic vision, special shape rodeo and balloon glows.
Mass ascensions in one of the biggest events of Albuquerque balloon fiesta, launches 500+ balloons at a time. Special balloon events also take place during this festival. Flight of Nations is one of such event, different Nations around the world launches hot balloons and each balloons carries it’s country’s flag.
The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is a yearly festival of hot air balloons that takes place in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA during early October. The Balloon Fiesta is a nine-day event, and has over 500 balloons each year. The event is the largest hot air balloon festival in the world.
The Balloon Fiesta began in 1972 as the highlight of a 50th birthday celebration for 770 KOB Radio. Radio station manager Dick McKee asked Sid Cutter, owner of Cutter Flying Service and the first person to own a hot air balloon in New Mexico, if KOB could use his new hot-air balloon as part of the festivities. The two began discussing ballooning, along with conversation and help from Oscar Kratz, and McKee asked what the largest gathering of hot air balloons to date had been. 19 balloons in England, Cutter replied. Kratz asked «Can we get 19 here?» Cutter agreed to try. He got commitments from 21 pilots, but bad weather kept some of them from arriving in time. The first fiesta ended up as a gathering of 13 balloons on April 8, 1972, sponsored by KOB. The first event was located in the parking lot of the Coronado Center Shopping Mall with 20,000 spectators and with balloonists from Arizona, California, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada and Texas taking part. McKee, Cutter, and Kratz are the three men who had originally started the balloon races.