Spectacle in Pamplona - Tens of thousands celebrate the start of the bloody bull run in Spain
Open season for the wildest bull-running of the world: In the northern Spanish city of Pamplona, the famous and controversial Sanfermines Festival was opened. Before tens of thousands of excited people, the starting rocket "Chupinazo" was fired from the balcony of the town hall. "Viva San Fermin", shouted nearly all the people traditionally dressed in white. The crowds sang, danced, and waved red scarves. The first of the eight bull-runs takes place on Sunday.
The state TV-channel RTVE and others broadcast the opening ceremony live. A tourist from Mexico wept in front of the RTVE cameras without reservation: "I am very moved. My father used to watch it on TV and dreamed of being here once. He didn't make it. He's not with us anymore. I am here for him now."
To the fans of the spectacle belongs the Pamplona-born football star Nico Williams (21), who on Friday eliminated Germany from the European Championship with the Spanish national team. "I usually celebrate every year. This year it won't be possible. But if we make it to the final, it's totally fine", he told the sports newspaper "AS".
The protests of animal rights activists were in vain
But not everywhere was there a party atmosphere after the opening. Criticism and protests from animal rights activists have been increasing from year to year. On Friday, PETA and AnimaNaturalis demonstrated in Pamplona against the nine-day festival. They described the wild spectacle as "medieval cruelty". They demand an end to the bull-runs and all bloody bullfights.
Some demonstrators went on parade on Friday chained to the stocks, wore horns, and had their faces and hands painted red. This red paint was supposed to symbolize the blood of the approximately 20,000 bulls that are killed every year at various events with centuries-old tradition in Spain.
Already in the past few days, there had been several demonstrations where participants carried placards with inscriptions such as "Torture is neither art nor culture" and "Animal cruelty is a national shame". "We know that there is a majority in society that rejects this animal cruelty not only in Pamplona, but throughout Spain, and has no interest in maintaining it - let alone with our taxes", said the AnimaNaturalis chairwoman Aida Gascon.
The anger and protests are increasing, but so is the enthusiasm of the fans
Indeed, the anger and protests have been growing for years. On the other hand, the bloody Fiesta enjoys high popularity among convinced fans in the region of Navarra. Last year, a total of 1.5 million participants were counted - a record. This year, the hotels reported an average occupancy rate of 90 percent several days before the festival, vacation rentals were no longer available at normal prices. For the city, it is a million-dollar business.
Visitors come from the most diverse regions of Spain and from all over the world, including Germany, Great Britain, France, Australia, Japan, and especially the USA. Pamplona, which today has 200,000 inhabitants, was written about by the US writer Ernest Hemingway in his first major novel "Fiesta" (1926).
The so-called Sanfermines are dedicated to the city saint San Fermin and have been celebrated in Pamplona since the end of the 16th century, every year around the beginning of July. There are not only bull-runs and bullfights, but also many concerts, processions, and other events for families and children.
The wild spectacle is not only dangerous for the animals
The bullfight is certainly the highlight of the celebrations: Between July 7th and 14th, every morning at 8 am, six bulls, some weighing over 600 kilograms, and several cows are hunted through narrow alleys by hundreds of people into the arena, where they are killed in the evening during bullfights. State television and other TV channels broadcast live until the end of the festivities. There are also special broadcasts, millions in Spain are glued to their screens.
On site, tens of thousands follow the bullfight from balconies, walls, and side streets up close. Tourists sometimes pay hundreds of Euros for the short-term rental of a small balcony. A lot of red wine and Sangria flows.
The wild spectacle is not only dangerous for the animals: Every year, there are injured participants in the bull runs, the predominantly young runners. Since 1924, there have been 16 fatalities, the last one being 15 years ago.
- Despite the protests from PETA and AnimaNaturalis in Pamplona, many tourists from around the world, including Germany, continue to visit for the Sanfermines Festival.
- The bull run, a crucial part of the European Championship-winning Spanish football star Nico Williams' hometown festival, was due to take place on Sunday.
- The Mexican tourist wept in front of the RTVE cameras, moved by the spectacle, sharing that her father had dreamt of attending but passed away before he could.
- Some animal rights activists demonstrating against the festival chained themselves to stocks, wore horns, and painted their faces and hands red to symbolize the 20,000 bulls killed annually in Spain.
- In the previous days, protesters carried signs with slogans like "Torture is neither art nor culture," arguing against the continuation of such customs with taxpayer money.
- Critics argue that the festivities glorify cruelty to animals, but Spanish society has a significant number of those who support and participate in the bull runs and bullfights.
- The popularity of the festival is such that even in times of growing protests, hotels have reported record occupancy rates, and vacation rentals prices are skyrocketing.
- Over the years, the Sanfermines festival has grown in popularity, with visitors coming from diverse regions of Spain and beyond, even drawing fans from as far as Mexico and the USA, attracting global attention and coverage on television.
