Sky full of colors over the Emmental

The Balloon Days Emmental will take place from April 9 to 13, 2025. 30 hot-air balloon pilots from Switzerland and abroad will take part in competitions. The organizers have also put together an attractive supporting programme.

"The skies over Affoltern and the surrounding area will be full of color over the five days!" says OC President Fritz Jakob. He and his team have made every effort to put together an attractive program. Gas balloon launches, the aerobatics show, the night glow and a children's program on Friday and Saturday afternoons from 4 p.m. will complement the sporting competition for hot-air balloon pilots. Now the weather just has to be right!

Two become one

Until 2005, two balloon events were held in the Emmental. One was the Blaser Cup, organized by the Blaser Balloon Group, Hasle-Rüegsau, and the other was the Bichsel Cup in Weier i.E. organized by the Matte Balloon Team Rüegsau. After these events, the Blaser Balloon Group, the people in charge of the Matte Balloon Team Rüegsau, the Aebi Burgdorf Balloon Group and the Emmental Show Dairy met to discuss the future of the two meetings. It quickly became clear from these discussions that it would make more sense to organize a joint event. On June 20, 2006, the founding meeting of the Balloon Club Affoltern i.E. took place at the former Gasthof Löwen in Affoltern. The meeting decided to hold a balloon event in Affoltern i.E. every two years, which has become a tradition since 2007.

The detailed program and current information can be found at www.emmentaler-ballontage.ch

Picture and video: Markus Aerni