Philippines International
Hot Air Balloon Festival
Balloons being inflated during the 20th Festival
GenreHot air balloon festival
DatesEvery 2nd week of February
FrequencyAnnual
Location(s)Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga
CountryPhilippines
Years active1994–1998, 2000–2019
Founded1994
Attendanceapprox. 100,000
Websitehttps://www.philballoonfest.net/

The Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta is an annual four-day air-sporting event held each year between January and February at the Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga. It is one of the longest-running aviation sports events in the Philippines.

Program

The event attracts more than a hundred balloon pilots around the world. It also features skydiving, flag jumps, microlight and rocketry demonstrations, small plane fly-bys and fly-ins, remote-control airplane and helicopter flying exhibitions, freestyle aerobatics, precision maneuvers, light airplane balloon bursting, ultra-light flying formation and flour bomb dropping, kite-making and choreographed kite-flying, hi-start launch gliding, control-line aircraft flying, pylon racing, banner towing, aero-modelling symposium and races between ultralights and motorcycles. An estimated 100,000+ visitors locally and from around the world come in to see this event.[1]

History

Hot air balloons in flight over Clark Freeport Zone during the 20th Fiesta.
Night glow display: Hot Air Balloon Festival in Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga

1994-1995

In 1994, three years after the eruption of the Mount Pinatubo, the tourism secretary Mina Gaborand, Sang-kee Paik, British Airways General Manager John Emery, and the German aviation enthusiast Max Motschmann, engineered the first ever Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta to help jumpstart the local economy and spirit of the Central Luzon region. This was done with the commitment of developing hot air ballooning as an aviation sport in the country and making the Philippines one of the leading sports aviation and travel destinations in the Asia Pacific region. The 1994 event originally organized by the Department of Tourism (DOT), the Hot Air Balloon Club, the Clark Development Corporation, and British Airways initially began with 21 balloon pilots from 10 countries and one entry from the Philippines, represented by Capt. Joy Roa, who was the only registered Filipino balloon pilot at that time. The success of the festival in 1994 brought about an increase in the number of participants in 1995 to 27 balloons, including a basketless one-man balloon, and two entries from the Philippines. The 1995 festival also saw the introduction of ultra light planes to the events.

1996-1998

By 1996, responsibility of the event was transferred from the Department of Tourism to Air Ads, Inc. under the watchful eyes of Captain Joy Roa, who is also an avid licensed balloon pilot. Between 1996 and 1998, the growing popularity of the festival was expanded to include other aero-sports activities such as sky diving, paragliding, motorized hang gliding, remote controlled model aircraft (aero modelers), and kite flying. Aerobatic stunts and precision maneuvers courtesy of the Blue Diamonds and later the Red Aces of the Philippine Air Force became a regular attraction of the festival.[2]

1999-2003

Financial challenges faced in 1999 led to the discontinuation of the festival. However, a notable resurgence occurred in 2000 when a total of 12 balloons and 18 light planes hailing from Thailand, Japan, and Singapore, contributed to an air rally that has since become a regular and integral element of the overall celebrations. The year 2003 marked a significant departure from the conventional ballooning format. This departure was manifested through the introduction of specially crafted balloons, including ones shaped as a flying newspaper from South Korea and a large dog from Japan, both of which made their inaugural appearance against the backdrop of the Pampanga skyline. The international representation of balloons from countries such as Malaysia, South Korea, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Czechoslovakia, and the Netherlands, successfully attracted audiences from various corners of the globe.

2004-2016

The Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Festival continues to be a popular international sports aviation event. The 2006 festival featured 30 multicolored hot air balloons and more than a hundred balloon pilots from Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany, the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic, Hungary, the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines. It also drew approximately 60,000 visitors to the event.[3]

2017–2020

The 21st Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta showcased 30 hot air balloons from USA, Canada, Switzerland, Sweden, Belgium, Germany, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Hungary, Turkey, China, Japan, Thailand, and the Philippines.[4] The award-winning Twinz Aerobatic Paragliders, as well as former members of the British Red Devils also participated in the event. The Fiesta's main theme was "Exchange of Cultures," a tribute to aviation's contributions in "making the world smaller." Apart from aviation enthusiasts, the Fiesta also invited artists and performers from around the world - including Turkish folk dancers, carpet makers and ceramic masters; international singers from South Africa, Samoa, New Zealand, and Zimbabwe; and the Amganad Music and Dance Ensemble from Banaue, Philippines.[4]

In 2020, the PIHABF was not held at its usual venue in Clark, Pampanga citing a "lack of government commitment" to be involved in the event amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, the organizers held a hot air balloon festival, which they dubbed as "Flying Carnival 2020", at the San Lazaro Leisure Park in Carmona, Cavite.[5][6]

Since 2021

This fiesta went on hiatus in 2021. There are plans to return in Clark.

See also

References

  1. ↑ https://www.goodnewspilipinas.com/hot-air-balloon-fiesta-to-soar-over-south-of-manila-in-2020/
  2. ↑ Miko Santos Asian Journal Online. Hot Air Balloons Grace Pampanga’s Sky. Retrieved on February 7, 2007.
  3. ↑ "Hot Air Balloon Fiesta soars at Clark". The Manila Times. 7 February 2007. Archived from the original on 26 May 2007.
  4. 1 2 21st Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta Magazine
  5. ↑ "Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta flies again, this time in Cavite". The Philippine Star. 8 March 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  6. ↑ "PH's hot air balloon festival opens in Cavite". Philippine News Agency. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
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