Flugtag to make splash at Regatta this year

PITTSBURGH — Officials with the EQT Pittsburgh Three Rivers Regatta announced Monday that the Red Bull Flugtag will be part of the annual event in August.

The competition features five-person amateur teams who build contraptions and then launch them from atop a floating flight deck.

Flugtag means “flying day” in German.

Applications will be open until May 1. Forty teams will be selected and announced in mid-May.

For the past 25 years, the Flugtag has been a standalone event held in cities including New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.

“They normally pulled 50,000-100,000 people themselves. So, when you add that to the regatta activities already happening, it’s going to be a huge crowd,” said Derek Weber, president of Lionheart Event Group. “The North Shore is going to be like it’s a Steeler game."

The EQT Pittsburgh Three Rivers Regatta is scheduled for Aug. 4, 5 and 6. The Flugtag is set for Aug. 5. The 2017 regatta marks the 40th anniversary of the event.

Cox Media Group