Media
The 54th ExxonMobil Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta® is scheduled for October 3-11, 2026
Event Information
The countdown for the 2026 ExxonMobil Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta® is underway! Mark your calendars now to attend the event, taking place October 3-11! The media application process opens March 31, 2026.
The 54th Balloon Fiesta will fill Albuquerque’s crystal blue skies as pilots navigate and float over Balloon Fiesta Park and the Rio Grande. The Balloon Fiesta is the world’s largest international ballooning event, featuring a phenomenon called the “Albuquerque Box,” a combination of weather patterns and geographic landscape allowing balloonists to control and even retrace their flight. The Albuquerque Box is great for spectators and pilots, providing the potential for hot air balloons to take off from and land in the same location.
The place to be in October is at Balloon Fiesta Park, a 360-acre park with 100 acres of grass and booths filled with balloons and concessions. During the 2025 event, Balloon Fiesta launched 537 hot air balloons representing 12 countries. Along Main Street, guests enjoyed 80 food and merchandise vendors, including plenty of breakfast burritos, the perfect grab-and-go meal, which gained global prominence at Balloon Fiesta.
Since the first Balloon Fiesta in 1972, media have covered this newsworthy event. With traditional and digital coverage reaching an audience of over 20 billion, media outlets covering Balloon Fiesta have included live broadcasts and cable programs (broadcasting on the field and in flight), as well as long-form documentaries, motion pictures, and more.
While this year’s media guide is in development, below is a link to 2025’s media guide. This year’s guide will be available beginning July 1.
Media Registration
Media registration for the 54th event will be open from March 31, 2026, until September 4, 2026. Credentials are provided to qualifying media (see below). The credentials package includes:
- Parking
- Admission for all events/sessions.
- Access to the secured competition area (with an escort) on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday of Balloon Fiesta week
- Invitations to participate in media events
- Opportunity to register for hot air balloon rides
- Access to our trained media team to assist with story ideas, arranging interviews, and filming/photographing on the field
- Access to the Balloon Fiesta media tower
- Access to the Media Hospitality Tent
- Breakfast and snacks
- Coffee, juice, hot chocolate, soda, and water
- Workstations
- Logistic assistance
All media updates will be provided from media@balloonfiesta.com. If you have questions or credential requests, please reach out to our media team.
Qualifying Media Information
Balloon Fiesta welcomes and works with members of the media from all platforms, including broadcast, print, photography, and digital media. To qualify for media credentials, you must be a member of the media (traditional and/or digital), meaning the work you produce at Balloon Fiesta must be developed to be shared with a larger audience on a qualifying media platform.
Reporters, producers, videographers, and photographers applying for media credentials as “traditional media” (broadcast and print) will need to provide credentials from the organization or a letter of assignment from a manager of the media assigning the work (i.e., editor, publisher, news director) that can be verified. The material produced must be scheduled for broadcast/print within a year of the 2026 Balloon Fiesta. If it is a longer-term project (long-format documentaries, motion pictures, audio/video series), please include additional information as an attachment to your letter of assignment. If your project requires a larger crew (three or more), additional planning or assistance from our media team, heavy equipment, etc., please complete the application and contact the media team directly to plan accordingly. Media applying for credentials may also upload a PDF document (as a part of the media application) describing how the work will be used; our media team will review each request.
A live stream of the launch field is availalbe with information on how to access provided in the media guide as the event approaches. If your organization has its own satellite truck, cell phone pack, or backpack unit, we ask you to work with our media team to determine the best field location to not interrupt launch operations or the guest experience. We have Wi-Fi and mobile coverage that can accommodate most live shots.
Media that have previously received credentials will need to submit a sample of Balloon Fiesta coverage (2018-2025) as a result of being credentialed media at Balloon Fiesta submitted as a PDF as part of the application process.
If your sole purpose for seeking media credentials is to build a portfolio, stock images, “spec,” or for sale/resale, you can still attend the event, just not with a media credential.
Applying for credentials is not an approval, it is just an application. The media team will review each request and provide rolling approvals on a monthly basis.
If you have questions about the 2026 application process and/or event, please email the media team at media@balloonfiesta.com.
Social Media Influencer and Content Creator Criteria
Professionals seeking media credentials as a social media influencer or content creator (Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, etc.) will need to include public and verified social media accounts for the Balloon Fiesta media team to review. Influencers and Content Creators must be 18 or older.
Blogger/Newsletter Criteria
Bloggers (written, verbal, or visual content) and newsletter editors are eligible to apply for media credentials. The media team will review the application with an eye for travel, event-related themes, and consistency in posting. Below is the criterion:
- Unique website visitors of a minimum of 5,000 each month
- Must post at least monthly
- Must have at least 500 followers/subscribers
- Must have relatable themes connected to Balloon Fiesta and/or events, travel/tourism
- Must be 18 years or older
Media Updates
To receive updated information, register for email updates by providing your email address to media@balloonfiesta.com.
Balloon Fiesta Photo Requests
If you represent a media organization that would like to publish an official Balloon Fiesta image to accompany a story (or calendar listing) about the event, please fill out this form.