European Balloon Festival – Inspired by a neighbour
Once upon a Sunday morning, we woke up to a funny noise. Looking out of our window, we soon found the source of the noise. We were surprised to see a hot air balloon hovering just above our house. To avoid landing on our very roof, the pilot kept feeding the fire and eventually touched down on a field near the village..
The adventure begins
Back then, we started thinking about how beautiful it would be to one day go on a journey by balloon too. The landscape shrinks beneath us while the horizon grows and the sea stretches as far as the eye can see. The forests are steaming in the morning sun. 1000 metres (3280 feet) above the ground, we float in complete silence, enjoying the view and celebrating the generally elated mood.
The biggest balloon-gathering in Europe
The European Balloon Festival is an international meeting of hot air balloons held for the first time in 1997 in Igualada. Since then it has become a competition and a benchmark in Europe. The festival is held in the first fortnight of July in Igualada and over four days : from Thursday to Sunday. It gathers more than fifty hot air balloons with their teams from around the world, and over 25,000 visitors. It’s definitely one of the best Festivals of the Costa Brava!
Balloons on the Festival 
Hot air balloons in animal form
A colourful show
The European Balloon Festival is a concentration, a competition and a balloon festival. It brings togheter the fun aspect of the flight, the beauty of the sport and the competition. During the four days of the festival, visitors can enjoy the show to see more than 50 balloons fly, participate in the programmed activities or fly in a balloon while the participating teams perform different exhibition and competition tests. The flights take place in the early morning and late in the afternoon when weather conditions are best for hot air balloons.
Hot air balloons at day.. 
& night!