Organisers of a planned “aerial chariot” race around the world have challenged Bermuda to get involved and put together an airship team to compete.

Don Hartsell, the founder of the World Air League, said in a speech to the Hamilton Rotary Club that it is hoped the World Sky Games take flight in September 2028, with teams of blimps, zeppelins and airships competing in a series of races over nine months.

He said: “We are going to have 17 host cities around the world which we are going to convert their skylines, their skyscrapers, their vistas into our stage, our theatre, our arena for F1 in the skies.

“We are going to use the power of fun, the power of entertainment to be the catalyst for change and showcase the environmental technologies that are so obvious they have been obvious to us for more than a century.”

He told club members that he hoped to get Bermuda’s insurance companies on board with the programme to support the creation of a team representing the island, although he acknowledged it was a “big ask”.

Mr Hartsell said that educational opportunities were a key component of the World Sky Games proposal, with students across the globe following the race and teachers being offered a curriculum touching on geography, history, culture, maths, science and the environment.

The races would also provide an avenue to introduce a variety of science, technology, engineering and maths skills, he said, noting that students at CedarBridge Academy had already been challenged to create their own remote-controlled airships.

Mr Hartsell said that airships have a significantly smaller carbon footprint than traditional aircraft, using about 75 per cent less energy to travel the same distance.

He added that the teams of “sky rebels” would be challenged to compete without the use of fossil fuels.

Mr Hartsell said that while airships are not as fast as planes, they are faster than most other forms of transportation, noting that the Hindenburg was recorded travelling at 182mph and that technology had advanced since then.

He said that airships fell out of favour for transport because of the manpower they required, but technological advancements had resolved that challenge.

He said: “It took 250 people, burly people, to hold down a zeppelin when it arrived and another 250 people to take off. You needed to have a small army at both the landing and departure point.

“Right now, you can land an airship anywhere with fewer people than it takes to land an aircraft at an airport.”

Mr Hartsell previously spoke with officials about Bermuda serving as a host destination in 2012.