Coupe Icare Masquerade 2023

Saint-Hilaire, France

Coupe Icare Masquerade 2023: The Ultimate Masquerade Flight Contest

This event is best known for its Masquerade Flight Contest, in which paraglider and hang glider pilots fly in costume over the edge of the mountain to compete for prizes. The event will be held for 6 days in the early autumn in Saint-Hilaire, France. There are flight competitions, live entertainment, and street performances, children’s activities and a flight museum. It is held in conjunction with a commercial film festival.

‘The Masquerade Flight Contest undoubtedly lives up to its reputation of being the world’s biggest international ultra light air sports event.’

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Your experience at Coupe Icare Masquerade

Participants not only glide of the edge of terrifying mountains, they are also dressed up in costume, makeup and masks, providing an amazing spectacle for the thousands of people who come along to watch. Famous for its Costumed Flight Contest for hang gliders and paragliders, the festival prevails as the annual “must go” meeting of the general public and free flight sportsmen worldwide, with or without a motor.

This amazing 6-day event attracts 90,000 spectators and 10,000 international pilots who buzz between the trade fair for air sports professionals, the film festival and a high-level aeronautics program with crazy, hair-raising, in-the-air and on-the-ground demos.

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On the final day of death-defying leaps, over 30 hot air balloons take to the skies, rising up slowly and drifting gently away, launching the last day of flight activities. Mini hot air balloons fly day and night, alongside their big sisters.

The annual Free Flight and Aerial Sports Film Festival coincides with the event that attracts an audience of nearly 20,000 people and has become a key venue for film and video professionals as well as free-flight enthusiasts. Films shown are about paragliding, hang gliding, sky diving, hot-air balloons, sailplanes,  elastic jump, base jump, kites and boomerangs. Films concerning the bird flight are also accepted.

Coupe Icare Masquerade 2023 Schedule

Check back closer to the time…

Where to watch the Coupe Icare Masquerade

Coupe Icare is held between Saint-Hilaire situated on the border of Chartreuse Mountains and Lumbin in the valley of Isère in France. The altitude of Saint-Hilaire is approximately 180 meters and only a few hundred people live in the township.

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How to get to the event

Free Shuttle Bus: free shuttles are only available Saturday, September 19 and Sunday, September 20.

Public Buses: For the rest of the event, people who will arrive by plane or train in Grenoble, Chambéry or Geneva, will have to use regular bus lines.

Where to stay in Saint-Hilaire

There are many accommodation options available on the Plateau and around the local villages. Choose from camping, sites, furnished cottages, hotels, bed and breakfast, and also a homestay experience can be catered for to totally immerse into the local culture.

Coupe Icare Masquerade 2023 Dates

The dates for the Coupe Icare Masquerade are September 19-24, 2023.

Photo Credit: Coupe Icare