CLARK FREEPORT – At least 22 hot air balloons made by nine countries will be seen at the 17th Philippine Hot Air Balloon Festival set on Feb. 9 to 12 at the Philippine Air Force’s ADAC hangar here.
In a statement, Clark Development Corp. (CDC) President and CEO Felipe Antonio Remollo said the event next year “will be bigger and better as more American balloonists have confirmed attendance.”
Joi Roa, president of the Hot Air Balloon, said that a kiwi-shaped balloon would be among the attractions of the festival dubbed as “the weekend of everything that flies.”
Roa disclosed that the balloonists will come from United States, Finland, Sweden, Amsterdam, Germany, United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea and Philippines.
The hot air balloon festival is one of the major attractions in Clark which is under the auspices of the Department of Tourism (DOT), said the CDC.
The event is expected to attract more than 100,000 spectators, added the state-owned corporation.
Last November 22, Remollo signed the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with PIHABF Foundation’s Roa.
Remollo also said the four-day balloon festival is expected to attract more visitors next year as the CDC hosts various sporting activities during weekends.
The hot air balloon festival started in 1994 after Mt. Pinatubo’s eruption in 1991. The eruption for years destroyed several areas in Clark and Pampanga.
The CDC announced that other special air sporting activities are lined up for the event, including sky diving-cum-flag-jump (pilot carries with him the Philippine Flag on the way down).
