24th International Balloon Meet

11-17 June 2019

On June 11–17, 2019, Velikiye Luki hosted the 24^th International Balloon Meet, the main event of the balloonists' sports calendar. It is one of the major balloon events both in Russia and abroad, which attracts around fifty Russian and foreign pilots every year. The oldest and most experienced pilot is Mikhail Naydorf, who celebrated his 80th birthday in the air last year, while the youngest balloonist is currently Dmitry Zhokhov from Tula, who is already a master of sports at the age of 23. The foreign participants were from Poland and Japan. The international jury of the competition was led by John Grubbstrom (Sweden), Honorary President of the World Air Sports Federation.

Following its years-long tradition, the International Balloon Meet started on June 11, 2019. Ahead of its official opening, there was a Key Grab competition – “hit the target”. Dozens of balloons lifted off into the sky above the Lovat River, trying to drop a marker from the air into a small basket placed on a catamaran. Spectators could observe the balloon flight from embankments and from the central bridge where the balloons were seen in close proximity as they were drifting down to wave to the audience or to get some water into a basket in a spectacular way.

On June 12, 2019, Russia Day, a convoy of the balloonists' trucks carrying gas burners and decorated with flags arrived in the fortress area, the centerpiece of the celebration. Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, extended his greetings to the participants of the Meet.

“Velikiye Luki is rightfully called the center of the national balloon sport. It is the place where most Russian pilots started their sports careers. It is the place where the winners of the first national championships and international competitions were identified. It is the place where Russian observers, who successfully participate in many foreign competitions nowadays, gained their experience,” said Alexey Miller. “Gazprom pays much attention to the development of sports, science and education in Russia. Over the years, Gazprom has been a general sponsor of this wonderful balloon festival. This year was no exception. We team up with Velikiye Luki again!”

The Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee wished clear skies and amazing victories to all the balloon pilots and vivid impressions and positive emotions to spectators.

The opening ceremony was followed by the march of the pilots accompanied by majorettes through the western gates of the Velikiye Luki Fortress to the takeoff field. The mass ascension of hot air balloons was the main event of the night. Dozens of colorful balloons simultaneously lifted off into the sky, giving memorable impressions to spectators and a chance to take beautiful pictures.

The International Balloon Meet is not only a festival, but also a sporting event. Over several days, the participants of the sports program strived for the victory in the Russian Hot Air Balloon Championship. Male pilots, who participated in the Meet at least ten times, competed for the 15th Cup of Velikiye Luki, whereas female pilots contended for the 13th Cup of Princess Olga. Over several days, the pilots participated in sports competitions, earning points that determined their position in the national sports ranking. There is a variety of sports competitions: to make the shortest path between two points, to reach the target at the shortest time possible, to get to the target located at the specified coordinates and at the specified altitude, to cover the longest distance, etc. Success in competitions requires not only the skills in steering the balloon or analyzing wind and weather conditions, but also extreme attention: Witold Filus (Poland), appointed as a sports director of the Meet, devised the competitions personally and announced them only at the pre-flight briefing.

Based on the competition results, Sergey Latypov (Moscow) became the Champion of Russia and the winner of the Cup of Velikiye Luki and the Cup of Friendship. The second and third places went to Andrey Kulkov (Tula) and Ivan Menyailo (Krasnogorsk), respectively.

The 2019 International Balloon Meet ended with a hot air balloon night glow show. The memorable scene of the balloon orbs glowing in the darkness of the night like giant sky lanterns leaves no one indifferent. The balloons with the logo of Gazprom, a general sponsor of the event, were the brightest.

Next year, 2020, will be a milestone year both for the Meet that will celebrate its quarter-century anniversary holding the festival for the 25^th time and for the cooperation with Gazprom that will run for 10 years. Let's reach the new heights together!