The Qatar Balloon Festival is the country’s first 12 day festival of Hot Air Balloons, where 30 balloons will be gathering from around the world. The event has been scheduled to coincide with three major events in the country:

• 24th Edition of Gulf Cup Tournament from 26th November to 8th December
• 2019 FIFA Club World Cup from 11th December to 22 December
• Qatar National Day Celebrations 18th December

Alongside the fantastic sight of hot air balloons filling the skies, we have a number of food trucks, fairground rides and much more entertainment.

Sunrise Balloon Flights

The surreal scene of a group of Hot Air Balloons taking off and coloring the skies at sunrise is unforgettable. The balloons will start taking off and fly with the wind for a period of 45 to 60 minutes and then land where the retrieve vehicles will collect the balloons, the crew, and any guests onboard.

Tethered Balloon Flights

At designated parks, a group of balloons tied to the ground by ropes will be providing a balloon ride experience to the public. The scene of the colorful balloons will be a fantastic opportunity to take photographs of the memorable experience.

Late Afternoon Balloon Flights

A couple of hours before sunset (weather permitting) the Hot Air Balloons will be lifting off together to color the skies. This would be a perfect opportunity to those that can’t get up with the crack of dawn to see the mass balloons flying in the air.

Nightglow

As the darkness sets, the Hot Air Balloons are inflated and start to light up in tune with the music. This spectacular scene must be experienced on sight as no video or description will do it justice!

FULL SCHEDULE

Day 1 – Dec. 7 Saturday

The activities start at 10:00 am with hot air balloons tethering till the early afternoon. As we reach 2:45 pm, our pilots are briefed on the weather for the first flight of the Festival. At 5:15 pm as dusk sets 15 of our hot air balloons to turn into glowing abatjours, glowing in sync with the music.

14:00 TETHERING
17:30 OFFICIAL OPENING
18:30 NIGHTGLOW
20:30 FESTIVAL DAY 1 CLOSE

Day 2 – Dec. 8 Sunday

We will have two free flight launches on the second day of the Festival plus tethering in the early afternoon.

06:15 BALLOON LAUNCH
14:00 BALLOON ACTIVITY
18:30 NIGHT GLOW
20:30 FESTIVAL DAY 2 CLOSES

Day 3 – Dec. 9 Monday

The third day of the festival includes more balloon flights as well as a nightglow.

06:15 BALLOON LAUNCH
14:00 BALLOON ACTIVITY
18:30 NIGHTGLOW
20:30 FESTIVAL DAY 3 CLOSES

Day 4 – Dec. 10 Tuesday

We will have two free flight launches on the fourth day of the Festival plus tethering in the early afternoon.

06:15 BALLOON LAUNCH
14:00 BALLOON ACTIVITY
18:30 NIGHT GLOW
20:30 FESTIVAL DAY 4 CLOSES

Day 5 – Dec. 11 Wednesday

The fifth day of the festival includes more balloon flights as well as a nightglow.

06:15 BALLOON LAUNCH
14:00 BALLOON ACTIVITY
18:30 NIGHTGLOW
20:30 FESTIVAL DAY 5 CLOSES

Day 6 – Dec. 12 Thursday

We will have two free flight launches on the sixth day of the Festival plus tethering in the early afternoon.

06:15 BALLOON LAUNCH
14:00 BALLOON ACTIVITY
18:30 NIGHT GLOW
20:30 FESTIVAL DAY 6 CLOSES

Day 7 – Dec. 13 Friday

The seventh day of the festival includes more balloon flights as well as a nightglow.

06:15 BALLOON LAUNCH
11:00 BALLOON ACTIVITY
18:30 NIGHT GLOW
20:30 FESTIVAL DAY 6 CLOSES

Day 8 – Dec. 14 Saturday

We will have two free flight launches on the eighth day of the Festival plus tethering in the early afternoon.

06:15 BALLOON LAUNCH
11:00 BALLOON ACTIVITY
18:30 NIGHT GLOW
20:30 FESTIVAL DAY 8 CLOSES

Day 9 – Dec. 15 Sunday

The ninth day of the festival includes more balloon flights as well as a nightglow.

06:15 BALLOON LAUNCH
14:00 BALLOON ACTIVITY
18:30 NIGHT GLOW
20:30 FESTIVAL DAY 9 CLOSES

Day 10 – Dec. 16 Monday

We will have two free flight launches on the tenth day of the Festival plus tethering in the early afternoon.

06:15 BALLOON LAUNCH
14:00 BALLOON ACTIVITY
18:30 NIGHT GLOW
20:30 FESTIVAL DAY 10 CLOSES

Day 11 – Dec. 17 Tuesday

The eleventh day of the festival includes more balloon flights as well as a nightglow.

06:15 BALLOON LAUNCH
14:00 BALLOON ACTIVITY
18:30 NIGHT GLOW
20:30 FESTIVAL DAY 11 CLOSES

Day 12 – Dec. 18 Wednesday

We will have two free flight launches on the twelfth day of the Festival plus tethering in the early afternoon and final nightglow.

06:15 BALLOON LAUNCH
14:00 BALLOON ACTIVITY
18:30 NIGHT GLOW
20:30 FESTIVAL DAY 12 CLOSES

Participants:

33 hot air balloons from 13 different countries (including Qatar):

  1. UK (17 balloons)
  2. Germany (2 balloons)
  3. Lithuania (2 balloons)
  4. USA (2 balloons)
  5. Italy (1 balloon)
  6. Croatia (1 balloon)
  7. Portugal (1 balloon)
  8. Ireland (1 balloon)
  9. France (1 balloon)
  10. Spain (1 balloon)
  11. Belgium (1 balloon)
  12. Netherlands (1 balloon)
  13. Qatar (1 balloon)

The event is free entry for the public. For more information, visit the official website: http://www.qatarballoonfestival.com

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