24th FAI World Hot Air Balloon Championship
Murska Sobota 2022
In September 2022, Murska Sobota hosted the 24th FAI World Hot Air Balloon Championship, the largest ballooning sporting event in the history of Slovenia and one of the country’s largest international sporting events of the year. The championship took place between September 16 and September 23, 2022, across Murska Sobota, Rakičan, and the wider Pomurje region.
The event was organized by Balloon Club Roto in cooperation with the Slovenian Air Sports Association, Aeroclub Murska Sobota, and the Municipality of Murska Sobota. The General Director of the championship organization was Matjaž Pavlinjek, while Claude Weber served as Event Director.
More than 100 pilots from 32 countries across five continents participated in the championship, competing in precision hot air balloon flying disciplines. Thanks to favorable weather conditions, organizers successfully completed all 10 scheduled competition flights during five competition days.
The sporting program consisted primarily of early morning and evening flights above the Pomurje landscape, while accompanying activities were held mainly at Murska Sobota Airport, Expan, and Rakičan Mansion. The opening ceremony took place in front of Expan at Soboško Lake, featuring presentations of all participating teams alongside aviation and musical performances.
Final Championship Results:
- Stefan Zeberli (Switzerland)
- Yudai Fujita (Japan)
- Nicolas Schwartz (France)
The best Slovenian result was achieved by Vito Rome, who finished in an excellent 6th place, marking the greatest achievement of Slovenian ballooning at World Championships to date. Jernej Bojanovič finished 45th, while Dejan Buzeti placed 80th.
The championship also had a significant tourism and promotional impact on the Pomurje region. The mass ascents of colorful hot air balloons above the plains of Prekmurje attracted numerous visitors, photographers, and media representatives from Slovenia and abroad. The event further established Murska Sobota as one of Europe’s recognizable ballooning destinations.
Originally, the championship was scheduled to take place in 2020 but was postponed to 2022 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. During the interim period, organizers conducted several preparatory competitions, including the Slovenian Open National Championship 2019 and the Open National Championship 2020.