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Vietnam's first international hot air balloon festival (VIHABF 2012) under the theme “Binh Thuan – Sunshine and Blue Sea” will take place in Phan Thiet city, Binh Thuan Province from Aug. 29 to Sept. 3 2012.
The event will be held by the Binh Thuan People’s Committee, the Binh Thuan Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and HCMC-based Chien Thang Service Co., Ltd, celebrating the 37th anniversary of Binh Thuan liberation (1975 – 2012) and the 20th anniversary of the province’s re-establishment (1992 – 2012).
More than 50 balloonists and aerial experts from a dozen countries, including Indonesia, France, Korea, China, Belgium, Japan, and the Netherlands, will join the festival.
Between 20 and 30 colourful balloons of different shapes and sizes will carry the national flags of participating countries. Interestingly, among them are balloons shaped like a golden cat and golden pig from Vietnam, an ice-cream sundae from the US, and a ripe orange and cartoon elephant from Europe.
Each balloon is 22-30 meters in height and of 16-18 meters in diameter. All teams will perform twice a day (6:00-8:30 and 16:00-18:00), with balloons flying at the height of 200-500 meters and no faster than 28km/h.
Furthermore, there will be 5 balloons anchored at the festival area for tourists to view. In addition, many side activities and other performances at the main festival will also take place at the same time.
The highlight of the event will be a grand gala dinner featuring lantern effects by the balloon teams to celebrate Vietnam's National Day on September 2.
Ngo Minh Chinh, Head of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said VIHABF promises to be a prominent cultural event in Vietnam this year. It is expected to attract large crowds of both local and foreign spectators and will become an annual event in the future./.
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