25th International Balloon Meet

June 10–17 2021

The 25^th International Balloon Meet took place in Velikiye Luki on June 10–17. Over the years, the ancient Russian city on the Lovat River has gained recognition as a center of gravity for athletes. It has its own good traditions and customs, several generations of pilots, and an emerging line of new champions.

For a consecutive period of ten years, Gazprom has been a general sponsor of the event. The Company pays great attention to the advancement of sports, science, and education in Russia.

The balloon meet is not only a celebration but also a sporting event. In the course of the week, participants in the sports program were vying for the trophy of the 26^th Russian Hot Air Balloon Championship. The 2021 edition of the competition brought together aeronauts from Moscow and the Moscow Region, St. Petersburg, Tula, Ryazan, Kaluga, Voronezh, Veliky Novgorod, the Perm Territory, the Republics of Tatarstan and Mari El, the Nizhny Novgorod Region, and Armenia.

On June 12 (Russia Day), the opening ceremony for the 26th Russian Hot Air Balloon Championship took place. Among the main events of the ceremony was the cancellation of postage stamps with a special custom-engraved handstamp. All guests were given a chance to send the commemorative postcards by balloon mail: the postcards were loaded onto an aerostat and made some of the way towards the addresses in the basket of a hot air balloon.

The pilots, volunteers, and teams who were present at the opening ceremony were greeted by Sergey Kalityuk, Director General of Gazprom Expo. He commended the aeronauts for their strength, courage, and tenacity. “You explore the air while we explore the earth, and the trait we have in common is that we are romantics. Not everyone is brave enough to conquer the tundra or conquer the sky. Your job is difficult, dangerous and complicated, as it takes considerable expertise to operate an air balloon,” said Mr. Kalityuk.

Over the course of the week, the pilots were flying their hot air balloons in order to determine the new champion in the Russian sports competition. The aeronauts also regularly treated the public to spectacular flights over the town, which were broadcast online this year.

Based on the results of the competition, pilot Oleg Snetkov from Tula was named Russia’s best aeronaut of 2021. Congratulations to the new champion! See you in the sky over Velikiye Luki!