Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta

The Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta is an annual four-day air-sporting event held between January and February at the Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga. It was initiated by Nelson Mayo in the late 1900s. As one of the longest-running aviation sports events in the Philippines, it features participation from over a hundred balloon pilots worldwide and attracts an audience of more than 100,000 visitors from various locations.

Program
The Fiesta's programming has changed and developed over the years. In addition to hot air balloons, some of the attractions present have been:


 * Skydiving
 * Flag jumps
 * Microlight demonstrations
 * Rocketry demonstrations
 * Small plane fly-bys and fly-ins
 * Remote-control airplane and helicopter flying exhibitions
 * Freestyle aerobatics
 * Precision maneuvers
 * Light airplane balloon bursting
 * Ultralight flying formation and flour bomb dropping
 * Kite-making and choreographed kite-flying
 * Hi-start launch gliding
 * Control-line aircraft flying
 * Pylon racing
 * Banner towing
 * An aeromodelling symposium
 * Races between ultralights and motorcycles.

Opening: 1994
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.

Organizers

 * Department of Tourism (DOT)
 * The Hot Air Balloon Club
 * The Clark Development Corporation
 * British Airways

Participants

 * 21 balloon pilots from 10 countries
 * One entry from the Philippines, Captain Joy Roa, was the only registered Filipino balloon pilot at that time.

1995
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 ultralight planes to the events.

1996-1998
By 1996, responsibility of the event was transferred from the Department of Tourism to Air Ads, Inc. under Captain Joy Roa. Between 1996 and 1998, the growing popularity of the festival was expanded to include other aero-sports activities:

Additions

 * Skydiving
 * Paragliding
 * Motorized hang gliding
 * Remote controlled model aircraft
 * Kite flying.

Aerobatic stunts and precision maneuvers courtesy of the Blue Diamonds and later the Red Aces of the Philippine Air Force also became a regular attraction of the festival.

1999
Financial challenges faced in 1999 led to the discontinuation of the festival.

2000
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.

2003
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.

Countries Represented

 * Malaysia
 * South Korea
 * Japan
 * Germany
 * The United Kingdom
 * Sweden
 * Czechoslovakia
 * The Netherlands

2006
The 2006 festival featured 30 multicolored hot air balloons and more than a hundred balloon pilots. It also drew approximately 60,000 visitors to the event.

Countries Represented

 * 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
 * The Philippines.

2017
In 2017, the 21st Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta showcased 30 hot air balloons. 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.

Countries Represented

 * The United States
 * Canada
 * Switzerland
 * Sweden
 * Belgium
 * Germany
 * The United Kingdom
 * Netherlands
 * Hungary
 * Turkey
 * China
 * Japan
 * Thailand
 * The Philippines

2020
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.

2021-2023
This fiesta went on hiatus in 2021.

2024
The 24th Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta was held in New Clark City from February 16 to 18, 2024 with the inaugural Skydiving Philippine Flag Jump ceremony.

Attractions

 * Parachute gliding
 * Helicopter flying
 * Jet exhibitions
 * Drone racing
 * Ultralight airplane flying
 * Air shows by Jetpara Hawk Paramotor flying by the Global Stars Team Aerobatic from the United Kingdom
 * Kite Flying Exhibition
 * Fireworks display

Countries Represented

 * The United States
 * The United Kingdom
 * The Netherlands
 * Spain
 * Brazil
 * Austria
 * Hong Kong
 * The Philippines

18 hot air balloons participated. Each balloon reached sizes of up to 30 meters and soared up to 12,000 feet.