Hot air balloons were the first successful human-carrying flight technology, but today they are used primarily for recreation and entertainment. Numerous hot air balloon festivals are held around the globe, allowing hot air balloon pilots to showcase their balloons and skills, and providing an unforgettable experience to the general public. One of such festival takes place in the Meetjesland region of Belgium every summer.
The inaugural Balloonmeeting was held in the municipality of Eeklo in 1986. Over the following years, it grew from a small-scale festival into one of the biggest events in the Meetjesland thanks to the cooperation between the city of Eeklo, the regional television station AVS, and other partners. During its peak, the hot air balloon festival attracted 30,000 spectators every year, which is almost 10,000 more than the population of Eeklo.
In 2019, the nonprofit organization Meetjeslandse Balloonmeeting responsible for running event announced that the festival would depart from Eeklo, citing a lack of funding and support from the new city council. The AVS Balloonmeeting went on a brief hiatus, due to both relocation and the COVID-19 pandemic, and returned in 2021, this time in Deinze. AVS remained the festival’s principal sponsor, and the event is now known as the AVS Balloonmeeting stad Deinze. Originally held on the last weekend of July, it was moved to the second weekend of August.
During the AVS Balloonmeeting, dozens of hot air balloons of different shapes and colors soar over Deinze and its surroundings while thousands of spectators watch. Like most other hot air balloon festivals, the event features hot-air balloon take-offs, paid balloon rides, and night glows during which tethered hot air balloons glow like huge Chinese lanterns.
One of the main highlights of the festival is the “fox hunt”. A pre-selected balloon (the fox) takes off from the site and places a large white cross on its landing spot. Other participating balloons (the hounds) take off about five minutes after the fox and try to drop their marker (a weight to which a ribbon is tied) as close as possible to the white cross.
In addition to balloon-focused events, the program of the AVS Balloonmeeting includes plenty of other entertainment: open-air concerts, special events and activities for children, fairground attractions, food and drink stalls, and more.
Photo: avsballoonmeeting-staddeinze.be
