The festival was announced last week in Coruche, in the district of Santarém, during a press conference in which the largest hot air balloon in the world flying commercially with passengers, over 40 metres in height with capacity for 34 people, was presented.


The third ‘Flutuar’, an event that brought around 30,000 people to the town of Coruche in 2017 and 2018, this year has 33 balloons, from Portuguese and international teams, some of which present forms such as the face of the Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh or Bidu, a character by the Brazilian cartoonist Maurício de Sousa.


There will also be a “Superbike” 37 metres in height and 46 wide, with the balloon flights taking place at 7am every day, with a second flight at 4pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (1, 2 and 3 November), with special promotions.


A Lego exhibition, street food fest and street art, inflatables, a walk, concentration and ride of classic cars and a show of light and electronic music ‘Night Glow’ will also be part of the festival along with workshops, drones and aerial radio modelling, held by the Aero Club de Portugal.


The event, organised by Windpassenger and the Coruche City Hall, also seeks to raise public awareness of the importance of the cork oak forest, with balloon trips over the landscapes dominated by the cork oak and the Sorraia River.


For the mayor of Coruche, Francisco Oliveira, in addition to the emphasis given to the richness of the natural and cultural heritage of the county, including the largest patch of cork oak forest in the country, the historic centre and the riverside area of the village, the great competitive advantage of the festival lies in the economic and tourist dynamics that it manages to attribute during the days of the event, and also the impact it has throughout the year.


The organisation stressed that air activities - hot air balloon flights, static hot air balloons and Night Glow - only take place if
all weather and safety conditions are guaranteed.