Annual balloon festival gets underway in Albuquerque, New Mexico

Hundreds of giant, hot-air balloons lifted off from Albuquerque, New Mexico on Saturday morning (Saturday evening, Manila time) for the kick-off of the 43rd annual Balloon Fiesta.

More than 500 pilots guided their colorful balloons into the sky before dawn, at the beginning of a nine-day-long event which will feature a variety of flying competitions, concerts and a chainsaw carving contest.

The festival first began 40 years ago, and now draws tens of thousands of spectators from all over the world. Organizers say a unique combination of geography and weather patterns in Albuquerque causes winds to blow in opposite directions at different altitudes, allowing balloon pilots to take off and land in the same spot.

According to its website, the event began in 1972 with "13 balloons launching from a shopping mall parking lot." It has since grown to feature the Balloon Fiesta, in which over 600 hot-air balloons participate from the 365-acre Balloon Fiesta Park.

They say it is the largest gathering of balloons and balloonists in the world. — Reuters