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Record crowds and perfect weather for the 36th FMG


Gatineau, September 4, 2023 - With the addition of a third stage and our new FMG Late Nights concept, as well as sunny skies over the 5 days of the Gatineau Hot Air Balloon Festival, festival-goers were treated to an edition that marked a new chapter in the Festival's history.


With an attendance of over 225,000, the 36th edition of the FMG broke all records. The Festival generated an estimated $15 million in economic spinoffs for the Outaouais region. The festival attracted a local clientele, with 68% of attendees coming from the Outaouais region. Visitors from outside the Outaouais, who accounted for 32% of the clientele, came from 10 countries, including Germany, Australia, France and the United States.


Tens of thousands of festival-goers turned out every day to sing along to the hits of the artists who graced the FMG's three stages. Sunday night was undoubtedly the biggest crowd pleaser, with the fiery presence of NE-YO offering a generous performance to festival-goers already entranced by Dan D-Noy and K.Maro.


The Hydro-Québec Stage livened up the early evening with performances by Jeanick Fournier, Richard Séguin, Claude Dubois and Luce Dufault. On the Loto-Québec Stage, Roxane Bruneau offered her fans an energetic show with a touch of humor. And let's not forget the Friday night with the Comedy Gala and La patente à Pat, a very special show to celebrate Patrice Bélanger’s 15th anniversary as spokesperson, which brought together all generations with exceptional artists and catchy medleys. The highlight of the evening was the presence of Claude Dubois and several participants from the first season of Survivor Québec, who came to surprise Patrice Bélanger.


Country fans had a field day with Thursday night's main stage show featuring Matt Lang and Brittany Kennell, plus performances by Phil G. Smith, Justin Legacy and André Varin & Marie-Claude Gagnon in the Festive square. The first edition of the FMG Late Nights was also a resounding success, allowing festival-goers to sing and dance to the sounds of Banx & Ranx, Clay and Friends and Rêve, bringing a breath of fresh air to the Festival.

Weather conditions were kind to hot-air balloons for most of the weekend, making way for 7 of a possible 8 take-offs, the highest quantity in the last decade. In addition to the flights, hot-air balloons were honored in the evening with three Night Glow. A novelty that charmed young and old alike, the multimedia night glow presented every evening transported the crowds into an imaginary world, for the duration of a hot air balloon trip.

Families were delighted by the family activities on site and in the Desjardins Family Zone, in addition to the youth shows presented from Saturday to Monday. The GPW-LPG wrestling gala was once again a great success, attracting curious onlookers and fans alike, as was the exhibition of some 100 vintage and modern cars on Saturday afternoon.


"All the planets were aligned to ensure that the 36th edition of the FMG was a complete success! In addition to the hard work of the entire Festival team, the weather, the numerous hot-air balloon flights, the musical program and family activities, everything was in place to ensure that festival-goers had a great time. The smiles and joy of festival-goers are proof that the Festival has its place in Gatineau," says Marie-Chantal Giguère, President of the FMG Board of Directors.

Don't miss the 37th edition of the Gatineau Hot Air Balloon Festival presented by Loto-Québec in collaboration with Desjardins, taking place from August 29 to September 2, 2024!

A few statistics:

5 days of programming

  • attendance of over 225,000

  • 107,000 single festival-goers

  • 774 caravanners

  • Over 1,100 volunteers

  • 7 flights out of a possible 8

  • 3 stages featuring 600 artists and artisans

  • Estimated economic impact: 15 million

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Source : FMG


Press relations in the Outaouais region

Sara-Jade Burton – Communications and Media Relations Coordinator


Press relations in Montreal and the rest of the province

Lyne Dutremble – annexe

C : 514 952-5047 / lyne@annexe.media








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