Hot air balloon shaped like Rio’s famous Christ statue flies over Melbourne

The city of Melbourne woke on Tuesday to a vision of Rio De Janeiro's famous Christ the Redeemer statue flying over their city, with a message urging Australia's Socceroos fans to "#KeepTheFaith."

Local media reported that religious groups were not pleased with the stunt.

In a statement, Australian betting company Sportsbet.com.au—which flew the balloon—said, "Let's be honest, the Socceroos need some divine intervention to win a single match at the World Cup!" and urged Australian fans to keep believing in their team.

The stunt took aeronautical engineers, designers and seamstresses five months to get the balloon off the ground, with the final product being bigger than the real Christ The Redeemer statue in Brazil, Sportsbet said.

The balloon measured 46 meters high and was made in the UK, the betting company said. — Reuters