Coruche International Ballooning Festival

Coruche International Ballooning Festival is the most famous festival in Portugal. Since 2017, the sky over Coruche, near Lisbon, has been filled by about 30 hot air balloons in late October or early November. Past celebrations have included balloons shaped like cartoons, motorcycles, and the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh, in addition to regular envelopes. The event is organized to promote the importance of the local cork oak woods, which are located in the Alentejo area, which is recognized for manufacturing cork. Visitors may take balloon rides, view the balloons lit up at night, and shop at a book, handicraft, and street food market.

The event was announced during a press conference in Coruche, in the Santarém region, during which the world's largest hot air balloon, over 40 meters in height and with a capacity for 34 people, was unveiled. With balloon rides above landscapes dominated by the cork oak and the Sorraia River, the event, organized by Windpassenger and the Coruche City Hall, also aims to increase public awareness of the importance of the cork oak forest.

According to Francisco Oliveira, the mayor of Coruche International Ballooning Festival, in addition to the county's rich natural and cultural heritage, which includes the country's largest patch of cork oak forest, the historic center, and the riverside area of the village, the festival's great competitive advantage lies in the economic and tourist dynamics that it manages to attribute during the event's days, as well as the impact it has throughout the year.

Date: late October or early November

Location: Coruche, Portugal