Last weekend, Red Bull brought one of its wildest and wackiest events to the shores of the Ohio River in Cincinnati as the city hosted Red Bull Flugtag – an event that allowed the brave and the bold to test their homemade, human-powered flying contraptions in front of a panel of celebrity judges.
The event is extremely simple: teams of five people dress up in costumes, do a brief dance or skit, and then launch a homemade, human-powered “aircraft” off of a massive 22-foot platform, trying to stay in the air as long as possible before inevitably plummeting into a body of water below (the Ohio River, in this case).
The teams are then judged by a celebrity panel of judges which included Cincinnati Bengals legend Chad Johnson. The teams were scored based on the creativity of their craft design, their performance, as well as the distance of their flight.
We were invited to check out this year’s event which drew more than 30,000 people, and what we witnessed was relentlessly entertaining.
By the way, @ochocinco sounds fully convinced that he can win this competition and doesn’t rule out giving it a shot next year.
“I think my creativity can get me about 60 feet.”
I mean, he followed through on racing a horse, so I’m not ruling this out. #RedBullFlugtag @redbull pic.twitter.com/ynWK9RxKE3
— Kevin Harrish (@Kevinish) August 15, 2023
@taylordharrish Have you heard of Flugtag before??🚀🫶🏻🪽💫✨ #redbull #redbullflugtag #vlog #contentcreator ♬ Chill in a good mood, calm and fun(1263486) – zukisuzuki
@taylordharrish fun fact: Flugtag is German for Flying Day🚀🫶🏻💫🪽 #redbull #redbullflugtag #vlog #contentcreator #redbullgivesyouwings #redbullflugtagcincinnati ♬ original sound – taylor🦋
I’m hanging out with @redbull watching people propel homemade “aircrafts” off of a 30-foot platform and into the Ohio River, because why the hell not? #RedBullFlugtag pic.twitter.com/r5u23myk4R
— Kevin Harrish (@Kevinish) August 12, 2023
Revisiting this: My biggest critique about most of these teams is that there isn’t enough emphasis on the launch.
They need a speed/power combination to get these things moving. These dudes are just hitting a light jog and hoping for the best.
They need some linebacker types. pic.twitter.com/6Lg7TjkniV
— Kevin Harrish (@Kevinish) August 15, 2023
And it also got social media buzzing.
This is a fascinating event. Costume design is excellent. Hopefully flight design is just as good #RedBullFlugtag @RedBull pic.twitter.com/N3TRmRMxfL
— Tommy Smokes (@TomScibelli) August 12, 2023
Gravity Gurus will be applying again next year, show us some support! #redbull #redbullflugtag #pilot pic.twitter.com/K2YwCGD70O
— Cooper The Pilot (@cooperthepilot) August 12, 2023
The most amazing thing about the #redbullflugtag is people are willing going into the Ohio river.
— Jake Boyles (@JakeBoyles) August 12, 2023
Will Kroger fly? #kroger @kroger @redbull #RedBullFlugtag pic.twitter.com/foAJJy04YT
— CincyPhotography (@CincyPhotoGuy) August 14, 2023
I would say that you couldn't pay me to swim in the Ohio River, but the honest to God's truth is you wouldn't be willing to pay what I'd demand. https://t.co/1xqMY0tOKf
— The Rooster (@rooster_ohio) August 12, 2023
Dudes rock https://t.co/uMwGPPR9BE
— Cool Nice Person (@AtSignCNP) August 12, 2023
*was
— Adam (@asinghoff99) August 12, 2023
If you couldn’t make it to this year’s event, the good news is that you can still catch the national broadcast as ESPN2 will air a replay of Red Bull Flugtag Cincinnati on Saturday, Aug. 19 from 6 – 7 p.m.
And there’s plenty of time to plan to see next year’s event in person.
