Red Bull announced that 40 teams have been chosen to participate in the outrageous flying competition with human-powered flying machines on October 8 at Red Bull Flugtag Tampa, Florida.
The first Red Bull Flugtag (‘flying day’ in German) took off in Vienna, Austria in 1991 and has since visited more than 30 countries around the world attracting crowds of up to 300,000.
This year, each team of crazy heads will launch from the flight deck perched 30 feet above the Seddon Channel next to the Tampa Convention Center and attempt to beat the record of 207 feet flight, which was set last year in St. Paul, MN at Red Bull Flugtag Twin Cities.
Teams and their homemade crafts will be valued by a panel of celebrity judges that will take three criteria into account in deciding who makes the podium: distance flown, creativity of the craft and the team’s showmanship on the big stage. Fans will also be able to vote for their favorite team via SMS to determine the People’s Choice Award.
As usual, Red Bull Flugtag Tampa will feature the funkiest crafts, ranging from a flying sombrero to a giant stapler and even a Harry Potter themed creation all the way from the UK, says the press release. All flying machines meet the following requirements: they are entirely human-powered, less than 30 feet wide and weigh no more than 450 lbs. (including the pilot).
Red Bull Flugtag is a free event. Gates open at 11:00 am and the first craft launches for flight at 1:00 pm.
Red Bull has also promoted the Red Bull Flugtag series with a set of innovative floating billboards along the coasts of Miami and Los Angeles. The event was promoted with 24′ x 14′ floating billboards and custom props— a pig and a foot with wings) towed along beaches on the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean by boats and jet skis. The billboard boats featured the message ‘Defy the Laws of Gravity and Sanity,’ says The Inspiration Room. The Flugtag Floating Billboards campaign was produced by bbi Display Systems and Trashtalk FCM.
Photo: theinspirationroom.com
The campaign first appeared in Miami last year to promote the first Red Bull North American Flugtag stop in Bayfront Park. The 2010 event attracted over 105,000 spectators, marking the largest attendance of any Flugtag event. This year’s show will probably attract even more people.
In July, Red Bull ran another ‘crazy’ competition Red Bull Creation.