The Project

An idea that gained altitude

The idea of the Ambassador Balloon was born two years ago within the Ambassador Club Riviera vaudoise.

Our club is fortunate to count among its members enthusiasts and connoisseurs of ballooning. A visit to the Espace Ballon museum in Château-d’Œx did the rest: the enthusiasm of a few members, their knowledge of the world of balloons, and the desire to give the Ambassadors greater visibility gradually turned an original idea into a genuine project.

A conviction then took hold: to better make the Ambassadors and their humanistic values known, perhaps it was time to… gain some altitude!

The hot air balloon naturally emerged as a wonderful way to spark curiosity, reach out to the public, and carry our message well beyond the circle of our members.

From “discreet and static” to “visible and mobile”

The Ambassador Clubs organise numerous activities: gatherings between members, talks, visits, moments of friendship and sharing. These activities are the richness of our clubs’ life.

But they often remain routine, discreet and static.

How can we better reach out to society? How can we make the Ambassadors better known? How can we give new visibility to our commitment to humanistic values and spark the interest of new generations?

The balloon offers an original answer to these questions.

It replaces nothing of what makes our clubs rich. It adds something: an original, visible and mobile tool.

Let’s raise the Ambassador flag high in the sky!

Picture a sporting event dedicated to fair play, a cultural event centred on human dignity, an international gathering, or a public event dedicated to a cause that resonates with our values.

Above the crowd, a silver hot air balloon appears, proudly bearing the Ambassador symbol.

It intrigues. It draws people’s gaze. It raises questions.

Who are the Ambassadors? Why this balloon? What values do they stand for?

Curiosity then becomes an opportunity for encounter and dialogue.

This is the whole ambition of the project: to make the balloon a visible ambassador of our humanistic values, capable of accompanying clubs at events, creating encounters, and introducing the Ambassador movement to a new audience.

From idea to reality

What started out as just an idea championed by a few enthusiastic members of the Ambassador Club Riviera vaudoise gradually took shape.

The project was presented to the Swiss Ambassador Club (CHAC), which now supports it. At the same time, contacts were made with various regional Ambassador Clubs, several of which have already expressed interest or given their agreement in principle to take part in the adventure.

To give the project an independent structure and allow interested clubs to become collective stakeholders, the Ambassador Balloon Association was created on July 16, 2026.

Its aim is to acquire and hold the balloon envelope, then make it available to the Ambassador Clubs that are owner members.

Aeronautical operations, maintenance and technical aspects are not, however, handled by the clubs. They are entrusted, under a formal agreement, to the Ballon de la Gruyère association, which has the necessary expertise in the field of ballooning.

This organisation thus brings together three complementary forces:

The project can thus take flight on solid foundations.

What’s next?

For the balloon to truly take flight, the adventure must now bring together as many people as possible.

Ambassador Clubs can join the association as owner members, take part in bringing the project to life, and one day have an original tool to support their own events.

Members of Ambassador Clubs can also personally support the project by becoming passive members of the association.

Every new club, every new member and every act of support brings us closer to the first flight.

But joining the Ambassador Balloon is not simply about contributing to the purchase of a hot air balloon.

It means taking part in a shared project designed to make the Ambassadors and their values more visible, mobile and present in society.