Grande Semaine d'Aviation de la Champagne

Advertising poster for the Grande Semaine d'Aviation

The Grande Semaine d'Aviation de la Champagne was an 8-day aviation meeting held near Reims in France in 1909, so-named because it was sponsored by the major local champagne growers. It is celebrated as the first international public flying event, confirming the viability of heavier-than-air flight.

It marked the first contest for the prestigious Gordon Bennett Trophy, sponsored by Gordon Bennett, publisher of the New York Herald, won by American Glenn Curtiss in competition with Louis Bleriot. The meeting saw the breaking of the world record for distance, a flight of 180 km (110 mi) by Henri Farman, as well as the debut of the lightweight Gnome engine, which would achieve much acclaim.