In the homeland of Great Tamerlane, in the city of Shakhrisabz, the First International Festival of Hot Air Balloons "Musaffo Osmon" is rising to the skies.

On October 10, 2024, the First International Festival of Hot Air Balloons "Musaffo Osmon" was launched in Shakhrisabz on Oqsaroy Square. The event, organized with the support of the Tourism Committee, attracted the attention of not only local residents, but also international guests.⠀

The festival opened with the participation of 10 hot air balloons and became the final stage of preparation for the world record of the only female pilot in the world who flew a hot air balloon in 117 countries - Ellie Dunnington. Uzbekistan became her 118th country.

The Councilor of The President, Saida Mirziyoyeva is realizing new opportunities of development for women in Uzbekistan. In this regard, Ellie Dunnington intends to open the way for female pilots to take to the skies and establish a flight school for them in the future. It is expected that this festival will give a new start to the development of aeronautics in Uzbekistan as a separate kind of tourism and recreation, and will also diversify services for tourists.

The first stage of this Central Asian project started in Almaty, Kazakhstan. As part of the festival, aeronauts from Brazil, Great Britain, Germany, Kazakhstan, Russia and Uzbekistan participate in exciting flights over the historic cities of Uzbekistan - Shakhrisabz and Khiva.