The majestic sight of hot air balloons over the skies of Mildura will become a permanent fixture over the coming week as Balloons over Mildura 2026 takes flight from this weekend.
The nine-day hot air balloon festival will feature more than 30 balloons taking flight across the region, launching in spectacular fashion this Saturday night with the Night Glow event at Mildura Recreation Reserve from 5pm to 8pm.
Councillor for Events and Tourism Rebecca Crossling welcomed all competitors to the region, highlighting the exposure the event would generate.
"I want to thank Mildura International Balloon Fiesta Inc for bringing this event to our region, which also serves as the second round of the Australian Balloon Federation Hot Air Balloon Grand Prix," Cr Crossling said.
"This event will introduce a whole host of potentially new visitors from across the country to our beautiful region, generating more than $283,000 in economic benefit for our business community given the event runs for more than a week.
"It also demonstrates the sheer diversity of events our region is capable of successfully hosting, particularly at this time of the year. We're fortunate to be able to feature so many clear sunny days in the middle of winter, which lends itself to many outdoor events, making our region an attractive proposition."
While this week's event is the second round of the hotly contested national Grand Prix, it also serves as elite pilot training ahead of the 2026 World Hot Air Balloon Championships in Poland.
In addition to the competition, Global Ballooning will be in the region for the entire week offering commercial hot air balloon flights.
Mildura Rural City Council is proud to partner with the event organisers through a $15,000 Event Fund and Support Grant.
