In early February I traveled to Munich for one of the most ambitious balloon projects I've been part of: Luftballonwelten, a 3,500 square meter exhibition built entirely from half a million balloons. Nineteen international balloon artists, ten days of building, five continents recreated in air.
The exhibition
Luftballonwelten was created and art directed by Guido Verhoef, one of the most prolific balloon artists in the world — multiple European Balloon Artist of the Year, Lifetime Achievement Award holder, and Guinness record breaker. After editions in New York, Brussels, Vienna and Budapest, Munich was the German premiere. Produced by Christoph Rahofer / EMS Entertainment, housed in the monumental Paketposthalle — a former postal sorting hall now operating as Pineapple Park.
Nearly 100 international balloon artists worked side by side for ten days, building five continents from scratch. Walking through felt like being inside a colorful, inflated labyrinth — Latin American temples and flamingos, a North American diner with a pink Cadillac and the Statue of Liberty, African pyramids and hippos, an Australian VW van. Every visitor received a passport to collect stamps from each continent.
Our contribution: BMW Tower and Vienna Riesenrad
Micha de Haan / Out of Thin Air was invited to build two landmark sculptures for the Europe section:
The BMW Vierzylinder — Munich's most recognizable building, the headquarters tower that looks like four engine cylinders rising from the ground. Built together with Colin Myles. The Süddeutsche Zeitung visited during build week and photographed the four cylinders still lying on the ground:
By opening day, the tower was standing — complete with the BMW roundel and Bavarian diamonds on top.
The Wiener Riesenrad — Vienna's iconic Ferris wheel, recreated in balloons with transparent gondolas and red accents on a silver base. This sculpture ended up featured prominently in the Bild newspaper coverage — twice on the same page, including the main photo at the top.
Both sculptures stood in the Europe section alongside the Eiffel Tower, the Leaning Tower of Pisa and a Dutch windmill.
Credits
- Art Direction & Concept: Guido Verhoef
- Production: Christoph Rahofer / EMS Entertainment
- BMW Vierzylinder & Wiener Riesenrad: Micha de Haan (Out of Thin Air) & Colin Myles
- Venue: Pineapple Park, Munich (Paketposthalle, Arnulfstraße 195)
- Nearly 100 international balloon artists from four continents
Press
- Suddeutsche Zeitung: Mit Luftballons um die Welt — photos of the BMW tower build in progress
- Bild München: Full-page feature with our Riesenrad as the lead photo (see header image)
Luftballonwelten ran from February 14 to April 12, 2026 at Pineapple Park Munich. More info at luftballonwelten.com.