Financed by Sponsorship, This New Event Aims To Be "Most Watched Ever"

Imagine a single event with 140 million live spectators. Sound crazy? Don Hartsell, the founder of the World Sky Race, doesn't think so. Hartsell, who has been kicking around the idea of an around-the-world blimp race for years, says the inaugural event will take flight in 2014, composed of eighteen back-to-back races that span 30,000+ mile around the globe.

The $50 million budget will be financed entirely by donations and sponsorships according to officials. Despite being two years away from the inaugural race, a solid list of partners have already signed on to support the race.

"It's being funded purely by that good old mechanism we call capitalism," Hartsell recently told CNN.

While the route is still being finalized officials say that the airships will visit at least four continents and about 130 United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage sites -- among them the Egyptian pyramids, the Taj Mahal, the Statue of Liberty and the Palace of Versailles.

Despite the hurdles that still remain, the World Sky Race has big expectations. On its website, the event boldly forecasts that it will be "the largest man-made event seen by live spectators in the history of the human race."

Learn more about the World Sky Race and its plans in this promo clip from the organizers...