Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta
The Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta is an annual four-day event held between January and February at the Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga. It is the biggest and longest-running aviation sports event in the Philippines. Programme. The event features multicolored hot air balloons with more than a hundred balloon pilots from around the world. It also features skydiving, flag jumps, micro light and rocketry demonstrations, small plane fly-bys and fly-ins, remote-control airplane and helicopter flying exhibitions, freestyle aerobatics, precision maneuvers, light airplane balloon bursting, ultra-light flying formation  and flour bomb dropping, kite-making and choreographed kite-flying, hi-start launch gliding, control-line aircraft flying, pylon racing, banner towing, aero-modeling symposium and races between ultra lights and motorcycles. An estimated 100,000 visitors locally and from around the world come in to see this event. History. 1994-1995. In 1994, three years after the devastating effects of the Mount Pinatubo eruption, Tourism Secretary Mina Gabor, together with South Korean businessman and hot-air balloon pilot, Sung Kee Paik, and 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 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. The 1994 event originally organized by the Department of Tourism (DOT), the Hot Air Balloon Club, the Clark Development Corporation and British Airways initially began with 21 balloon pilots from 10 countries and one entry from the Philippines, represented by Capt. Joy Roa, the only registered Filipino balloon pilot  at that time. 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 ultra light planes to the events. 1996-1998. By 1996 responsibility of the event was transferred from the Department of Tourism to Air Ads, Inc. under the watchful eyes of Captain Joy Roa who is also an avid licensed balloon pilot. Between 1996 and 1998, the growing popularity of the festival was expanded to include other  aero-sports activities such as sky diving, paragliding, motorized hang gliding, remote controlled model aircraft (aero modelers), and kite flying. Aerobatic stunts and precision maneuvers courtesy of the Blue Diamonds and later the Red Aces of the Philippine Air Force became a regular attraction of the festival. 1999-2003. Financial difficulties in 1999 led to the cancellation of the festival, but saw a resurgence in 2000 with 12 balloons and 18 light planes from Thailand, Japan and Singapore, all participating in an air rally which has become a regular component of the festivities. 2003 saw a change in the traditional  ballooning format. Specially designed balloons in the shape of a flying newspaper from South Korea and a large dog from Japan made their debut over the Pampanga skyline. Balloon participation from Malaysia, South Korea, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Czechoslovakia, and the Netherlands drew crowds from around the world. 2004-2016. Currently, the Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Festival continues to be a popular international sports aviation event. The 2006 festival featured 30 multicolored hot air balloons and more than a hundred balloon pilots from 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 and the Philippines. It also drew an approximated 60,000 visitors to the event. 2017–2020. The 21st Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta showcased 30 hot air balloons from USA, Canada, Switzerland, Sweden, Belgium, Germany, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Hungary, Turkey, China, Japan, Thailand, and the Philippines. 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. 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. Since 2021. This fiesta  went on hiatus in 2021, but plans to return in 2022.