The Irish Hot Air Balloon Championships event takes place each year in the last week of September and over the 53 years of its existence has visited many different locations around the country including Waterford City, Kilkenny, Kells, Navan, Ballymahon, Loughrea, Trim, Birr and recently Tullamore. The IBA is planning to bring the event back to Boyle in September 2025.
This spectacular event features up to 30 Hot Air balloons and their crews (approx. 150 people) from around the world and this year teams from the USA, France, Germany, Scotland, England, Wales, Ireland and Northern Ireland will attend. The aim is to fly twice daily (morning and evening, weather permitting) from Lough Key Forest Park in Boyle, creating an amazing, colourful and free spectacle for all to see as the balloons inflate, take off and fly overhead. During the week a number of flying tasks are set to determine an overall winning team who will become this year’s Irish Hot Air Ballooning Champions.
Each year the event attracts a lot of media attention and has featured on RTE TV News, Nationwide, the Irish Times, local radio and print media and a multitude of on-line social and media outlets.
The event is a not-for-profit event which relies on raising sponsorship locally and this year Roscommon County Council have kindly provided some funding however more funding is needed. The organisers are offering a limited number of sponsorship packages with Gold, Silver or Bronze options available. This is a unique opportunity to advertise your brand and to fly in a hot air balloon. A flight in a balloon at the championships event is a unique, unforgettable, once in a lifetime experience.
Gold Option: 4 balloon Flight Basket Spaces, website and social media, priority media and basket banner – €1,500
Silver Option: 3 balloon Flight Basket Spaces, website and social media and priority media – €1,150
Bronze Option: 2 balloon flight basket spaces and website and social media – €750
The Irish Ballooning Association (IBA), formed in 1974, is a not-for-profit association formed by Hot Air Balloon enthusiasts as the representative body for hot air ballooning in Ireland. The IBA is affiliated to the National Aero Club of Ireland, the Federation Aeronautique Internationale and the Commission Internationale d’ Aerostation. The CIA is the governing organisation for ballooning worldwide. The IBA handles the selection process for international competitions and supervises the National Ballooning Championship.
If interested in becoming a sponsor, please contact the Championships Director, Frank Meldon on int+ 353 87 6868211 or email [email protected]
Website: https://www.ballooningchampionships.ie/
