Balloon extravaganza in France misses out on world record

Video. Balloon extravaganza in France misses out on world record

It failed to break the world record, but the "Grand Est Mondial Air Ballons" festival sent as many balloons in the air as the last time it was held, organisers said on Monday (July 29).

It failed to break the world record, but the "Grand Est Mondial Air Ballons" festival sent as many balloons in the air as the last time it was held, organisers said on Monday (July 29).

A total of 456 balloons filled the skies of the Eastern French city of Hageville, near Metz, on Monday, tying the record number of hot air balloons to be in flight at the same time in less than an hour, previously set by the same festival in 2017.

Participants took off early in the morning from the Chambley aerodrome.

The event's mass ascent, which takes place every two years in the Lorraine region, is one of the biggest of its kind in the world, organisers said.