Vredefeesten Ballonfestival
Balloons launch from the Grote Markt during Sint-Niklaas’s Vredefeesten, alongside the town’s wider festivities.
The Grote Markt is the centre of this Belgian balloon meeting. The organiser describes morning and evening departures, special-shape balloons and a lantern-balloon display using burners and music. The Balloon Trophy adds precision tasks for Belgian pilots to the public programme.
The latest calendar entry covers 4–6 September 2026. The website also contains older timetable details, so individual weekday references should be checked against the edition rather than copied into a future itinerary. The balloon meeting traces its history to the liberation celebrations of 1948.
Launches take place only when conditions are suitable. Before travelling for a particular session, check the organiser’s latest notice and allow time to reach the square. Passenger arrangements, where available, are separate from watching from the ground. No 2027 dates were established in this review.
Sources and photograph
Editorial review: 9 November 2026. Source 1
Archive photograph of Vredefeesten Ballonfestival. It does not show the line-up for a forthcoming edition. Photograph by EBFS. CC BY-SA 4.0. Responsive versions may be cropped and resized.