UAE Balloon Museum 7 to be first of its kind in the Middle East

The UAE Hot Air Balloon Team has signed a partnership with Japan’s Saga Balloon Museum to build the UAE Balloon Museum 7, the Middle East’s first balloon museum, WAM reported. It will be based in the UAE and aims to reinforce the country’s leadership in tourism, culture and sports.

What is the UAE Balloon Museum 7?

The UAE Balloon Museum 7 is a planned hot air balloon museum in the UAE, the first of its kind in the Middle East. It will be run by Emirati professionals. It will become the seventh specialised balloon museum in the world.

Where was the balloon museum agreement signed?

The agreement was signed during a visit by a team delegation to the Saga Balloon Museum in Japan. The visit coincided with the team’s participation in the 39th Pacific Cup and the Saga International Balloon Fiesta.

The delegation looked at the latest global technologies and systems used to manage and develop aviation and balloon museums. It also exchanged expertise with Japanese counterparts.

How many balloon museums are there in the world?

The UAE Balloon Museum 7 will join a global network of specialised museums. Two others are in the United States. The rest are in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Japan.

The UAE will become the only country in the Middle East to host such a landmark.

What will the UAE Balloon Museum 7 showcase?

The museum will showcase the history of hot air balloons. It will also cover the technologies used to make and operate them.

It will document the UAE team’s journey and international tours as well. The team has carried a message of peace and tolerance since its inception. This honors the legacy of the nation’s Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, through a balloon bearing the slogan “The world will never forget you, Zayed.”

What did the UAE Hot Air Balloon Team say about the museum?

Captain Abdulaziz Nasser Al Mansoori, head of the team, said he was proud of the achievement. He said the UAE is the first Middle Eastern nation with a comprehensive, integrated system in hot air ballooning.

He called the museum a qualitative leap and a knowledge bridge. It connects the region to the horizons of aviation, past and present, he said.

Al Mansoori added that the project is more than a tourism and cultural experience. It will also be a sustainable educational and training hub. It will help transfer global expertise to national talent, in line with the leadership’s vision of embracing innovative projects.

How did the Saga Balloon Museum respond?

Kiyoshi Mori, deputy director of the Saga Balloon Museum, welcomed the delegation. He noted that the UAE team became the first to have an Arabic name inscribed on the museum’s honor boards in 2006. That came through its participation in the 39th Pacific Cup and the Saga International Balloon Fiesta.

Mori also affirmed the museum’s support for the UAE Balloon Museum.