Swiss perspectives in 10 languages

International hot air balloon festival claims the skies of canton Vaud

Dozens of hot-air balloons in the sky over Château d'Oex (VD)
Dozens of hot-air balloons in the sky over Château d'Oex (VD) Keystone-SDA

After a windy first day, the International Balloon Festival in Château-d'Oex, canton Vaud, took off on Sunday. Dozens of hot-air balloons took to the skies over the Vaud Alps.

+ Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox

The first flights took place at 11 am, the event’s communications and promotion manager, Julien Magnin, told Swiss news agency Keystone-SDA. The weather conditions were favorable, the organisers said on social networks and in a press release, saying they were “delighted to see the growing enthusiasm of the public”.

On Saturday, the wind had come to play the spoilsport. Flights had to be cancelled, but entertainment and captive flights were maintained. According to the organisers, the event drew a total of almost 10,000 visitors. Some 3,000 visitors were able to see inside a hot-air balloon envelope.

Common problem

Weather-related cancellations are a common occurrence at this emblematic event. “We depend on good weather and wind conditions”, Julien Magnin summarised on Saturday.

“Last year there were nine consecutive days of flying, morning and afternoon. It’s the only time this has happened in 45 editions,” he added. In contrast, another edition was distinguished by only half a day’s flight over the nine-day event.

The 45th Château-d’Oex International Balloon Festival runs until February 2. More than 60 pilots from all over the world are expected to take to the skies.

Translated from French by DeepL/ds

This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.

If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, if you want to learn more about how we use technology, click here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.

Popular Stories

Most Discussed

News

Federal government must set priorities for transport infrastructure projects

More

Swiss government must prioritise transport projects

This content was published on Following the no to motorway expansions and additional costs for future rail infrastructure, the Swiss government must set priorities for road and rail expansion.

Read more: Swiss government must prioritise transport projects
St. Bernard Foundation in Martigny VS celebrates its 20th birthday

More

Swiss St Bernard foundation turns 20

This content was published on The Fondation Barry du Grand-St-Bernard in Martigny, southwestern Switzerland, is celebrating its 20th anniversary.

Read more: Swiss St Bernard foundation turns 20

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR