Archive notice: This article was originally published on August 31, 2009. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
After attracting attention in France and Great Britain already, the faithful reproduction of Carl Fredricksen’s house will now stop in the following cities, according to Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Germany:
September 5 and 6, 2009 - Warsteiner Internationale Montgolfiade, Warstein
At one of Europe’s largest hot-air balloon festivals, the UP balloon will launch in the “Special Shapes” category. Each morning and evening, it will participate in the mass launches and, together with numerous other imaginative balloons, fill the sky over Warstein with bright colours. Between launches, festival visitors will have the opportunity to view the balloon up close.
The UP hot-air balloon will also be seen in the metropolitan cities of Berlin, Frankfurt am Main and Cologne, where tethered flights will provide the opportunity to view the cities from an unusual perspective. The tethered balloon will be fixed to the ground with cables and allowed to rise in a controlled manner to a height of up to 30 m. After a breathtaking view over the respective city, it will be brought back to the ground with a winch.
September 10, 2009, Berlin, Leipziger Platz
September 16, 2009, Frankfurt am Main, Konstabler Wache
September 18, 2009, Cologne, Chocolate Museum
The UP hot-air balloon, designed especially for the film’s launch, is 24 m high and 16 m wide and delights with its unique appearance: 540 small imitation balloons are attached to its envelope. The basket is enclosed by an inflatable reproduction of Carl’s house, making every passenger feel part of the film.
The pilot of this unusual craft is Briton Andrew Holly. For 13 years, Holly has been one of the world’s best-known balloonists. He was British county ballooning champion ten times in succession. In 2004, he set the still-valid British record for the longest flight in a so-called Cloud Hopper, a one-person balloon. Andrew Holly is not only an active balloonist; his company is also the British market leader in marketing activities conducted in the air.
