In its inaugural edition, Hot Air Balloon Festival witnessed huge success as thousands of people visited Aspire Park to watch the 12-day event. Pic: Abdul Basit/The Peninsula
Qatar’s first-ever Hot Air Balloon Festival has concluded on a high note as thousands of spectators flocked to Aspire Park to witness more than 30 hot air balloons from 13 countries in a stunning show.
For 12 days, visitors enjoyed the sight of the skies over Aspire Park adorned with the colorful hot air balloons in the free-to-enter family-friendly festival which culminated on Qatar’s National Day.
In addition to watching the majestic sights of this unique international event, guests enjoyed various cuisines from the country’s best food brands as well as live music, children’s entertainment and more.
The festival was organized by Safe Flight Solutions and Asfary.com, which earlier this year introduced Qatar’s first hot air balloon as a tourism product.
“We are honored to have had the opportunity to host Qatar’s first Hot Air Balloon Festival, where we welcomed thousands to witness this International spectacle for free. To mark the beginning of our great country’s National Day celebrations, we could not have had a more befitting time to conclude the Hot Air Balloon Festival than on the 18th of December,” said Captain Hassan Al-Mousawi, CEO of Safe Flight Solutions.
“The success of this event would not have been possible without our strategic partner Qatar National Tourism Council, our venue partner Aspire Zone Foundation, our official airline partner Qatar Airways, our ground transportation partner Hertz, our children entertainment partner Celebrations Palace, and other sponsor partners as well as all governmental agencies that facilitated a smooth operation of this festival.,” said Mariam Al-Mousawi, Event Director of Qatar Balloon Festival 2019.
“With the continued support of our partners, we envisage to turn this into an annual global event with more countries participating each year,” said Ali Al-Mousawi, COO of Safe Flight Solutions.
Jawaher Al-khuzaei, from Qatar National Tourism Council, lauded the event, saying: “Qatar’s first Hot Air Balloon Festival was a great success, promoting a new tourism product for our visitors and residents alike. We were pleased to see festival-goers experience the city from the ground as well as the sky and see our destination from a new perspective. We thank the organizers for the innovation and initiative taken in adding to Qatar’s growing calendar of world-class events and festivals.”
Abdulla Aman Al Khater, Director of Events and Facilities at Aspire Zone Foundation, said: “We at AZF had the pleasure to have hosted Qatar Hot Air Balloon Festival in its first edition in Aspire Park. We are proud of the huge success the event had, and how it attracted the families during the National Day celebrations. Much appreciation to the organizing committee and all who participated in the success of this event, and hope to collaborate in the future.”
