"Consultations will take place between our ballooning commission and pilots, manufacturers, sponsors and broadcasters," says Max Bishop, secretary general of the FAI. "We have teamed up with the international PR consultancy Fleishman-Hillard to assess the potential for the event and are all very motivated by the idea. It would probably take place every four years and we would anticipate a magnificent trophy and a substantial cash prize for the winner."
Bertrand Piccard, pilot of the Breitling Orbiter and grandson of Auguste Piccard who was famed for his inventions including the stratospheric balloon and pressurised cabin, says "Naturally I want to make the first circumnavigation but a race round the world, once we see that it is feasible, fills me with tremendous excitement, and I would be the first to sign up. It would be a nice way to carry forward the story of round-the-world adventure."
Don Cameron the world's largest manufacturer of balloons responded enthusiastically to the news , too: "The great balloon race could become to balloonists what the Whitbread is to yachtsmen. It would certainly be a magnificent spectacle."
Further information :
FAI : Max Bishop, Tel : +33 (0)1 49 54 38 92 (France)
Fleishman-Hillard : Caroline Gillies, Tel : +44 (0)1628 627613 (UK)
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