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Hundreds of thousands of spectators packed Istanbul's Caddebostan shoreline as Red Bull Flugtag returned to the city for the first time in four years.
Thirty amateur teams, selected from nearly 8,000 applicants, prepared to launch their homemade flying machines from a ramp into the Sea of Marmara, filling the coastline with color and anticipation.
Along the Caddebostan waterfront, crowds gathered hours before the first launch, filling the shoreline with music, costumes and conversation.
Since debuting in Vienna, Austria in 1992, Red Bull Flugtag has been staged more than 185 times worldwide, with Istanbul hosting its sixth edition after previous events in 2008, 2010, 2013, 2019 and 2022.
Thirty teams took their positions on the ramp, each having built a flying contraption entirely by hand.
Selected from close to 8,000 applications, the participants spent months designing costumes, props and vehicles meant to combine visual storytelling with distance and style before their turn to leap.
Performers staged short skits atop the ramp, weaving humor and narrative into their brief moment before flight.
Elaborate costumes and choreographed routines turned each launch into a small production, drawing cheers from the crowd below as teams counted down to the plunge.
At the announcer's call of "Uc... 2... 1!", teams released their machines from the ramp's edge, sending them briefly airborne before they dropped into the water.
Distance covered before impact determined placement, turning each attempt into a mix of engineering and spectacle.
Red Bull athletes Toprak Razgatlioglu, Deniz Oncu and Bahattin Sofuoglu, all national motorcyclists, staged a separate show for the crowd, trading the race track for the water with a jet ski demonstration.
Razgatlioglu also performed a solo leap from the ramp, a moment that drew particular attention from onlookers.
Red Bull athlete Issa Kalfon delivered a jet suit demonstration over the water, hovering and maneuvering above the crowd as part of the event's entertainment lineup.
Live performances of the songs "Radikal" and "Yung Ouzo" accompanied the show, adding to the festival atmosphere along the coast.
National taekwondo athlete Kubra Dagli and motorsports figure Ayhancan Guven served among the event's jury, evaluating each team's creativity, costume design and distance.
Dagli, who had previously attended as a spectator, described this year's atmosphere as especially lively.
After all 30 teams completed their runs, organizers announced the results: Skyby-Doo placed first, Turtles Airlines finished second and Tavsan Kani took third.
The rankings closed out an afternoon that combined amateur engineering with performance and crowd participation along the Istanbul coastline.
Reflecting on the event, Dagli said she hoped to compete in a future edition rather than only judge.
"After watching this competition, I keep saying I want to come and race too," she said, adding that she would soon return to national team training ahead of a World Championship appearance in South Korea in September.
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