Photos: Hot-air balloons take flight in dazzling display at European Balloon Festival in Spain

Hot-air balloons participate in the European Balloon Festival in Igualada, in northeastern Spain, on July 11. — Hot-air balloons participate in the European Balloon Festival in Igualada, in northeastern Spain ,on July 11. (Manaure Quintero/AFP via Getty Images) (AFP via Getty Images)

The European Balloon Festival, held across four days in Igualada, Spain, is the largest gathering of hot-air balloons in the country and welcomes an average of 25,000 visitors each year. More than 50 balloons are displayed throughout the days — with some available for balloon rides — and there are competitive flights in the early morning and late afternoon when flying conditions are better.

Hot-air balloons use heat to make the air inside the balloon lighter than the air surrounding it, which makes it fly. Pilots use a small gasoline-powered fan that blows the hot air into the balloon to rise and then turns it down to return to Earth.

The festival, which started in 1997, hosts balloons from around the world. Competitors are scored based on whether they can achieve goals set by the judges. At the end of the events, winners can receive a prize of 600 euros (around $650 in U.S. dollars).

This year's festival hosts a new innovation: Near Spacecraft, a new balloon with a closed cabin that can fly over 65,000 feet in the air (a commercial plane's cruising altitude is around 30,000 feet to 40,000 feet). The balloon was designed by Zero 2 Infinity, a private Spanish company that develops hot-air balloons, with help from Ultramagic, an Igualada-hot-air balloon company. The ultimate goal for Near Spacecraft, according to Catalan News, is to eventually reach space.

Another novelty of this year's festival will be the "Les Nits de Llum" — translated as "nights of light" — where hot-air balloons will light up the night sky for spectators.

The 28th European Balloon Festival takes place this year from July 11 to July 14.