Photos: Hot-air balloons take flight in dazzling display at European Balloon Festival in Spain
Yahoo News Photo Staff
Hot-air balloons participate in the European Balloon Festival in Igualada, in northeastern Spain ,on July 11. (Manaure Quintero/AFP via Getty Images) (AFP via Getty Images)
The European Balloon Festival, held across four days in Igualada, Spain, is the largest gathering of hot-air balloons in the country and welcomes an average of 25,000 visitors each year. More than 50 balloons are displayed throughout the days — with some available for balloon rides — and there are competitive flights in the early morning and late afternoon when flying conditions are better.
Hot-air balloons use heat to make the air inside the balloon lighter than the air surrounding it, which makes it fly. Pilots use a small gasoline-powered fan that blows the hot air into the balloon to rise and then turns it down to return to Earth.
The festival, which started in 1997, hosts balloons from around the world. Competitors are scored based on whether they can achieve goals set by the judges. At the end of the events, winners can receive a prize of 600 euros (around $650 in U.S. dollars).
This year's festival hosts a new innovation: Near Spacecraft, a new balloon with a closed cabin that can fly over 65,000 feet in the air (a commercial plane's cruising altitude is around 30,000 feet to 40,000 feet). The balloon was designed by Zero 2 Infinity, a private Spanish company that develops hot-air balloons, with help from Ultramagic, an Igualada-hot-air balloon company. The ultimate goal for Near Spacecraft, according to Catalan News, is to eventually reach space.
Another novelty of this year's festival will be the "Les Nits de Llum" — translated as "nights of light" — where hot-air balloons will light up the night sky for spectators.
The 28th European Balloon Festival takes place this year from July 11 to July 14.
Several balloons are about to participate in the inaugural flight of the 28th European Balloon Festival in Igualada, Spain, on July 11. (Siu Wu/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock) (Siu Wu/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)
Hot-air balloons fly in the European Balloon Festival on July 11. (Manaure Quintero/AFP via Getty Images) (AFP via Getty Images)
Several balloons are readied for the European Balloon Festival on July 11. (Siu Wu/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock) (Siu Wu/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)
Fifty hot-air balloons from various countries, including England, France, Brazil, Monaco, Italy, Switzerland, Tunisia and Morocco, are prepared to float in the sky on the first day of the festival on July 11. (Lorena Sopena Lopez/Anadolu via Getty Images) (Anadolu via Getty Images)
Hot-air balloons fly over the Catalan town of Igualada, Spain, during the balloon festival on July 11. (Manaure Quintero/AFP via Getty Images) (AFP via Getty Images)
More than 40 balloons fly over Igualada in a festival that lasts for three days. (Eric Renom/LaPresse/Shutterstock) (Eric Renom/LaPresse/Shutterstock)
Hot-air balloons float over Igualada on July 11. (Manaure Quintero/AFP via Getty Images) (AFP via Getty Images)
A participant prepares a hot-air balloon for a flight. (Manaure Quintero/AFP via Getty Images) (AFP via Getty Images)
Hot-air balloons from various countries dot the sky during the festival on July 11. (Lorena Sopena Lopez/Anadolu via Getty Images) (Anadolu via Getty Images)
Hot-air balloons use heat to make the air inside the balloon lighter than the air surrounding it.(Lorena Sopena Lopez/Anadolu via Getty Images) (Anadolu via Getty Images)
Hot-air balloons. (Lorena Sopena Lopez/Anadolu via Getty Images) (AFP via Getty Images)
Hot-air balloons as seen from the ground. (Lorena Sopena Lopez/Anadolu via Getty Images) (Anadolu via Getty Images)
Airborne hot-air balloons. (Manaure Quintero/AFP via Getty Images) (AFP via Getty Images)
Spectators gaze at the hot-air balloons during the festival on July 11. (Lorena Sopena Lopez/Anadolu via Getty Images) (Anadolu via Getty Images)
