Budapest’s latest super production, the LUFILAND exhibition, has opened its doors in the BOK Hall. The attraction features among others a replica of the Chain Bridge, the Eiffel Tower, the Sphinx, the Statue of Liberty in New York and the Leaning Tower of Pisa. More than 500,000 environmentally friendly balloons were used in the making of the statues. The attraction covers a total of 4,000 square meters. The exhibition was dreamed up by the world-famous balloon sculptor Guido Verhoef, and during the past two weeks, nearly 100 volunteers from 18 countries worked daily to build the grandiose production.
Visitors to LUFILAND can expect to be part of a great adventure, upon entering the gate they first find themselves in space, and then through a labyrinth they can discover the wonders of five continents. Most of the balloons – 190,000 pieces – were used for the labyrinth, but the Egyptian pyramid and the Mayan temple were also built from thousands of balloons. All balloons are made of environmentally friendly materials.
Dutch balloon designer Guido Verhoef started building sculptures from the special material when he was 15 years old, he has now perfected the technique and his name is known worldwide. His work was assisted by 20 other masters in Budapest. The sculptures created have never been seen by the public anywhere in this form, LUFILAND is a world premiere. “We have built a real fairytale world, we want the visitors to have a life-changing experience. We also thought about the children separately, as part of the exhibition is the thousand square meter “fun zone”, where they can freely unleash their creative energies,” said Guido Verhoef.
The construction of LUFILAND was a real logistical test, as volunteers came from 18 countries around the world – dozens of them from Hungary – to be part of the experience and help in the creation of the balloon sculptures. The more than half a million balloons were inflated one by one, folded and then placed on the grandiose creations. During the exhibition, trained professionals ensure that the balloon creations always look their best.
LUFILAND will be on display in the BOK Hall for a limited time, until the middle of August.
