Balloon Fiesta in New Mexico

The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is the largest hot air ballooning event in the world.

This festival takes place in Albuquerque, New Mexico, during the first week in October.

Hundreds of balloonists and thousands of tourists from around the world come to Albuquerque in New Mexico to celebrate ballooning.

The Balloon Fiesta began in 1972 as the highlight of a 50th birthday celebration for a local radio station.

In 1973 Albuquerque hosted the first World Hot-Air Balloon Championships, the fiesta was very popular and became an international event. In 1975 Albuquerque scheduled the event to the month of October.

History of Hot Air Ballooning

In 1783 Pilatre De Rozier, a scientist, launched the first hot air balloon called ‘Aerostat Reveillon’. The passengers were a duck, a sheep and a rooster. The balloon stayed in the air for only 15 minutes before crashing back to the ground.

Important personalities have had an interest in Hot Air Ballooning. In 1987 Richard Branson and Per Lindstrand were the first to cross the Atlantic in a hot air balloon.

And in 1991; both Branson and Lindstrand travelled 6,700 miles from Japan to Canada breaking their previous world distance record set in 1987, traveling at speeds of up to 245 mph. They became the first to successfully cross the Pacific Ocean in a hot air balloon.