SPAIN: Annual Spanish bull run festival kicks off in Pamplona
- 00:00:15
- ITN Source
SPAIN: Annual Spanish bull run festival kicks off in Pamplona
The annual Spanish San Fermin bull running festival kicks off with an outdoor party in the town of Pamplona for thousands of Spaniards and tourists from around the world. The Spanish town of Pamplona was packed with revellers for the opening of the country's world-famous bull-running festival on Friday (July 6). Thousands of people from all over around the globe gathered for a noisy and colourful party. The festival burst into life at noon (1000gmt) with a drum roll and the firing of a rocket from the town hall balcony. Champagne corks popped and the wine flowed. Pamplna's mayor Yolanda Barcina declared the festival officially started with a cry of "Long live the party of San Fermin!" shouted out in both Spanish and Basque. As the "chupinazo" fireworks arched into the sky above the city's historic main square, thousands of people drenched each other with wine, flour and champagne. The "chupinazo," or "big shot," marks the start of the San Fermin festival -- nine days of collective partying celebrated in Ernest Hemingway's 1927 novel "Fiesta: The Sun Also Rises." Dressed in the festival's traditional all-white costumes and red scarves and amid deafening shouts of "Long live San Fermin," the alcohol-soaked crowd waved flags, threw around inflatable balls, drank beer, sang and danced. After 20 hours of non-stop partying, a group of the bravest -- or most reckless -- of the men will risk their lives in three-minute adrenaline-fuelled dashes from six fighting bulls released into the town's narrow streets. The bull runs -- eight in total -- will begin on Saturday (July 7) morning.
ITN Source | July 7, 2007
