León International Balloon Festival

The León International Balloon Festival, known locally as Festival Internacional del Globo, is based in the city of León, Guanajuato. The organisers describe it as the ballooning event with the greatest worldwide impact, and present it as a major ambassador for Mexico around the world.

The 2026 edition runs from 13 to 16 November in León. Entry is ticketed, though this detail is not yet fully confirmed: tickets are expected to be sold through the official site, where the programme is also published online.

Alongside the balloons, the festival hosts a concert programme called Festival de Festivales.

The music includes electronic acts, with a headline night billed as The Dream Nite led by Calvin Harris. The line-up also covers a range of styles, from regional Mexican music to local rock and metal bands.

The festival was first held in León in 2002, bringing together 25 hot-air balloons. In 2010, as part of Mexico's celebrations of the bicentenary of independence, it took the slogan 200 years, 200 balloons, and pilot Jonathan Trappe rose to 18,000 feet in a cluster balloon.

In 2014 the festival unveiled its official balloon, which bears the colours of the Mexican flag. That year it also broke a Guinness world record, when 4,334 people set off Mentos geysers at the same moment, beating the record previously held by China.

The 21st edition, in 2022, saw the special-shape balloon The Little Prince make its first appearance in the Americas, flying over León. According to the organisers, the 22nd edition in 2023 reached millions of viewers through its FIG en Directo broadcast and welcomed hundreds of thousands of visitors to León.

For somewhere to stay in the city, the organisers point visitors to the website of the León hotel and motel association.