Thousands Gather for Pamplona Bull-Running Asia One
go to original July 9, 2012

A runner is dragged by his scarf by a bull during the first running of the bulls of the San Fermin festival in Pamplona. Photo: (Reuters)

PAMPLONA, Spain - Thousands of revelers, many dressed in red and white and already guzzling sangria and beer, packed Pamplona this weekend to launch Spain's famous bull-running fiesta.

They jammed into the northern city's main Plaza Consistorial for a heady nine-day mix of drinking, partying and running ahead of a pack of sharp-horned charging bulls.

Known as the San Fermin festival, it gets under way at noon with a traditional shout from the City Hall balcony of "Viva San Fermin!" and the launch of a firecracker known as the "chupinazo".

After the rocket goes off, partygoers from around the world spray anyone around them with cheap wine, transforming white clothes into various shades of pink, and break into dance and song.

Many got an early start on the drinking, swigging back sangria and beer in the morning ahead of the San Fermin festival, popularised worldwide by Ernest Hemingway's 1926 novel "The Sun Also Rises".

They sat in outdoor patios or wandered the narrow, cobble stone streets of the city carrying plastic cups - or sometimes even buckets - of alcohol as they sang.

"This is what breakfast should be like," said John Moorse, a 26-year-old tourist from California as he sat at a table with friends, a large plastic cup of beer and a pack of donuts in front of him.

The festival, which dates back to medieval times, features religious processions, folk dancing, concerts and round-the-clock drinking with bars allowed to stay open until 6:00 am.

But the highlight is a bracing, daily test of courage against a thundering pack of half-tonne, fighting bulls.

Each day at 8:00 am hundreds of people race along with six huge bulls, charging along a winding, 850-metre (yards) course from a holding pen to Pamplona's bull ring.

The bravest - or most foolhardy - run as close as possible to the tips of the horns, preferably without being gored.

The first bull run, which traditionally draws the largest number of participants, is on Saturday.

Ander Goyoaga, a 34-year-old unemployed plumber from Bilbao who has taken part in six bull runs in the past, said he planned to repeat the experience this year.

"It is an incredible sensation, your heart starts beating faster. Each time I say it will be the last but then I can't resist doing it again," he said.

The bull runs are thought to have started when butchers began running ahead of the beasts they were bringing from the countryside to the San Fermin festival.

A run takes on average just under four minutes.

Dozens of participants are injured each year. Most of the injuries are not caused by bull horns but by runners falling, getting knocked over or trampled by the animals.

The most recent death took place three years ago when a bull gored a 27-year-old Spaniard in the neck, heart and lungs.

To avoid injuries, organisers try to block people who have been drinking from taking part in the bull runs and have sprayed the route with a chemical to prevent people from slipping and falling.

The city of 200,000 residents expects the festival will draw half a million visitors and bring in more than 70 million euros (S$110 million) in tourism earnings.

"I have seen the images on TV and I had to come. This has to be the world's wildest party," said Britain's David Higgins, 25, who came to Pamplona with three friends.

Last year, 20,500 people took part in the eight bull runs of the festival, the majority of them men between the ages of 18 and 35, according to Pamplona city hall.

Nearly half of all participants came from abroad with the United States, Australia and Britain accounting for the greatest number of foreigners.

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