Running of the Bulls - the San Fermin festival in Pamplona, July 6-14
Running of the Bulls (Encierro) is part of the San Fermin festival in Pamplona, Spain, held July 6-14 annually. Bull runs through the old town each morning. Cultural + regional, not a national public holiday.
Cultural celebrationPublished October 10, 2026
- Observed in
- Where observed
- When
- July
- Frequency
- Same date every year
- Days off
- 0 days - cultural observance only
- Public status
- Cultural observance - not a legal public day
The Running of the Bulls is part of the San Fermin festival in Pamplona, Spain, held annually from July 6 to July 14. Bull runs take place each morning through the old town streets.
The one-line summary
Annual festival in Pamplona, Spain, July 6-14, featuring daily bull runs through the old town. Made internationally famous by Ernest Hemingway. Controversial due to animal welfare concerns.
Origin
San Fermin is a religious festival honoring San Fermin, the first bishop of Pamplona, who was martyred in the 3rd century. The festival dates to the 12th century in some form, with the running component (encierro) added in the 14th century to transport bulls from the corrals to the bullring for the afternoons bullfights.
The original encierro was a practical matter: bulls used in the afternoons corrida de toros had to be moved from corrals outside the city to the bullring. Over time, the young men of Pamplona began running ahead of the bulls as a demonstration of courage, and this practice evolved into the festival's central event. By the 17th century, the encierro was a formalized civic event.
The encierro route
The bull run covers approximately 875 meters from the Santo Domingo corral to the Plaza de Toros (bullring). The route includes several tight turns, including the famous Calle Estafeta straightaway. The run typically takes 2 - 4 minutes, with the bulls reaching speeds of approximately 24 km/h. Six bulls run, followed by a herd of oxen (cabestros) that guide them into the bullring.
Participants traditionally wear white clothing with a red neckerchief (pañuelo rojo) and a red sash (faja). The white-and-red costume is associated with San Fermin martyrdom and is worn throughout the festival, not only during the encierro. First-time runners are advised against participating; the run is dangerous and injuries are common.
How it is observed
El Chupinazo (July 6): opening ceremony with the mayor launching a rocket from the city hall balcony and crowds wearing red and white. Daily encierros (July 7-14): six bulls run approximately 875 meters from the Santo Domingo corral to the bullring. Daily bullfights at the bullring. Pobre de Mi (July 14): closing ceremony at midnight with a candlelit procession and the singing of the Pobre de Mi song.
Beyond the encierros and bullfights, San Fermin week features concerts, religious processions, traditional dance (including the formal jota and pasodoble dances in regional costume), and the running of the bulls in the morning. The festival draws approximately 1.5 million visitors to Pamplona each year; the city has only about 200,000 permanent residents.
Hemingway and global fame
The Pobre de Mi closing
San Fermin closes on the night of July 14 with the Pobre de Mi ceremony, which translates as "Poor me." Participants gather in the Plaza Consistorial in white robes with red sashes and carry lit candles. The crowd sings the traditional Pobre de Mi song, led by the mayor from the city hall balcony. The ceremony marks the end of the festival and the promise of return next year.
The Pobre de Mi is more somber than the opening El Chupinazo. Where the opening is a loud, joyful celebration with rockets and crowd noise, the closing is reflective, with the candle-lit crowd singing and waiting for the silence that marks the festival's end. Locals and returning visitors typically treat the closing as the emotional peak of the week.
The festival gained international fame through Ernest Hemingway's 1926 novel The Sun Also Rises, which featured the Running of the Bulls prominently. Hemingway had visited Pamplona in 1923 and returned several times through the late 1920s. The novel was published in 1926 as Fiesta in the UK and made the festival a destination for American and British travelers.
Hemingway's connection to Pamplona is commemorated by a bronze statue of the author outside the bullring, unveiled in 1968. The festival has since been celebrated in many other works of literature, film, and television. Running of the Bulls-style events have been replicated in cities worldwide, including the Great Bull Run in the US and similar events in Mexico and Brazil, though these are generally much smaller and not connected to the original festival.
Safety and controversy
Injuries are common during the encierro: goring, falls, trampling, and crowd-crush incidents. Fatalities average approximately 1 - 2 per decade. The Pamplona city council requires participants to be at least 18 years old and to be in apparent physical condition to run. Double barriers line the route, and medical teams are stationed along the way. Despite these measures, the run remains dangerous.
Animal rights groups including PETA have campaigned for decades against the running and the bullfighting that follows. Spanish regional regulations on bullfighting have evolved since the 2010s: Catalonia banned bullfighting in 2012 (a law later overturned in constitutional court), and several regional governments have restricted bull-related events. The festival itself remains legal and popular locally.
Legal status
San Fermin is a public holiday in Pamplona and the wider Navarra region. The festival is not a Spanish national public holiday. Banks, post offices, and most businesses in Pamplona and Navarra close during San Fermin week.
In other countries
The Running of the Bulls has inspired similar events worldwide. The Great Bull Run, established in the US in 2013, holds events in several cities including Dallas, Atlanta, and Pittsburgh. Cuencame in Mexico holds an annual Running of the Bulls event. Several other Spanish cities hold their own encierros in summer. None of these events have the same scale or cultural embedding as the Pamplona original.
Running of the Bulls by the numbers
Sources
- Ayuntamiento de Pamplona, San Fermin: pamplona.es
- Wikipedia, "Running of the Bulls": en.wikipedia.org
- Encyclopedia Britannica, "San Fermin": britannica.com
- Related: Cinco de Mayo (another summer cultural observance).
History of the Running of the Bulls
The Running of the Bulls (Encierro) is part of the San Fermín festival in Pamplona, Spain, held from July 6 to 14 each year. The encierro involves running ahead of bulls released from corrals through the streets of Pamplona's old quarter to the bullring.
The tradition dates to the 14th century and was formalised in the 19th century. Ernest Hemingway's 1926 novel The Sun Also Rises popularised the event internationally. The festival has become a major tourist draw, with millions of visitors attending each year.
San Fermín festival
San Fermín is named after Saint Fermín, the co- patron saint of Navarra. The festival begins on July 6 with the Chupinazo, a rocket launched from the town hall balcony, marking the start of celebrations. The festival features daily bull runs, concerts, religious processions, and traditional Basque cuisine.
The Running of the Bulls has drawn international criticism for its treatment of animals, and several Spanish cities have banned similar events. Pamplona's event continues with safety improvements and animal welfare measures.