Sint-Niklaas (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The Peace Festival in Sint-Niklaas, organised by Roy Sax, adds an extra day and 2 extra hot air balloon takeoffs, offering 7 flights and peace-themed activities for 100,000 visitors.
As VRT News reported, the Vredefeesten in Sint-Niklaas is getting bigger this year. They’ve added a day and 2 more hot air balloon launches. There will be 7 balloon flights instead of 5. The festival now begins on Thursday evening, June 26, 2025, with a new launch, and there is a morning flight on Friday, June 27, 2025.
Roy Sax, who organises the Balloon Festival, said this gives everyone more chances to enjoy the show. There will be regular and special-shaped balloons, and they’re the main attraction of the festival, which is all about peace and happiness.
What’s new at Sint-Niklaas peace fest with 7 balloon flights?
The new Thursday at the festival is all about kids. There’s a special program to teach them about peace. All 24 classes from local schools are coming. The kids will do fun things to learn why peace is important. They might go to workshops, watch demonstrations, and see the balloons up close. The city wants kids to learn about getting along, helping each other, and being respectful.
1000 people come to watch the balloons take off. The sky fills with colourful balloons, including regular ones and fun shapes like a giant castle. There are also old balloons on display that don’t fly.
This year’s Vredefeesten has some new challenges because the Grote Markt has been changed. The square’s layout is different for the first time in over 10 years, which means they had to figure out how to launch the balloons in a new way. Some things are gone, and new things like light poles and plants have been added, which affect how much space they have and how safe it is to launch.
Because of this, Roy Sax, the organiser, said that fewer balloon teams can join this year to make sure everything is safe. He mentioned that even with these changes, the festival is still very popular. They expect over 100,000 people to visit from Thursday, September 4, to Sunday, September 7, 2025.
