Red Bull Flugtag returns to Nashville’s Riverfront Park in September

Red Bull Flugtag at Nashville's Riverfront. Image courtesy of Red Bull.

NASHVILLE – Today Red Bull Flugtag, the world's wildest homemade, human-powered flying craft competition, has announced the return to Nashville’s Riverfront Park on Saturday, September 23 in what will be the first Flugtag flights to take off in Nashville since the event made its debut in the city a decade ago. The highly competitive application phase is now open and closes on June 2, when 40 teams will be selected to participate to see who can fly their homemade craft the farthest powered by nothing but their ingenuity and spirit.

Teams of five can enter their craziest flying concepts through the formal application found at win.gs/flugtagnash17. Past applicants have found inspiration for their craft’s designs in everything from food to mythology to their favorite local sports teams’ mascots. Whatever it takes to get the huge crowd excited and their craft soaring!

On the day of the competition, each team of five will launch their human-powered machines off a 24-foot-high flight deck into the water below as they try to break the current Red Bull Flugtag World Record, which stands at 258 feet (78.64 meters). The craft’s distance is not the only criteria teams will have to consider. Participants will also be judged on their creativity and showmanship, so teams must come prepared with a plan to excite the crowd.

Translated to “flying day” in German, Red Bull Flugtag has taken place worldwide for 23 years, entertaining more than 500,000 people annually, including the previous stop in Nashville in 2007. The fun-packed, city-stopping event is known for regularly drawing crowds of 50,000 – 80,000 spectators, and sometimes more.

Applying to participate in Red Bull Flugtag Nashville is free, but pilots must be 18 years or older to enter. For more information, including applications, rules, photos, and video footage from past Red Bull Flugtag events, visit www.redbullflugtag.com/usa/.

Published March 13, 2017