“Pamplonesas, Pamploneses: Viva San Fermín, Gora San Fermín”. This shout launched from one of the balconies of the Pamplona City Hall is answered by an unintelligible and deafening roar of more than 10,000 party-hungry throats, which fill a 2,500 square meter square where there is no room for a pin, women and men from different parts of the planet mix and they are all united by a single objective: to enjoy the nine days of one of the best-known festivals in the world.
This event will happen at 12 in the morning on Monday, July 6, when two representatives of the Subdirectorate of Emergencies of Navarra—an organization chosen by popular vote to launch the famous chupinazo—light the fuse of the rocket that will inaugurate the Sanfermines of 2026.
From that moment on, an extensive official program of 516 events is launched, in which the City Council has invested 1,760,000 euros, although the economic impact of the festival is close to 260 million euros, according to the council itself. The municipal proposal includes concerts, fireworks, theater, sports and activities for the little ones. But, above all of them, a protagonist stands out who neither drinks nor sings nor dances, but on whom the San Fermín festival revolves: the bull.
The bulls in the bullfight and in the bullring, which are already resting in the Corrales del Gas, oblivious to the hustle and bustle, and waiting for the bullfights to begin at eight in the morning on the 7th along the Cuesta de Santo Domingo in a hectic journey among a crowd of young men and women who enjoy the danger of the deadly pitons of the cattle that are fought at this fair. And in the afternoon, the bullfighting festivities, with the stands packed to capacity, like every year, where the sun and the shadow compete in excitement and become passionate, each in their own way, with the risk of heroic bullfighters.
Pamplona thus appears to have become the capital of the festival thanks to two historical figures: San Fermín and Ernest Hemingway. The first, of whose existence there is no historical certainty, was a saint and martyr from the 3rd century, whose legend did not reach Pamplona until the 12th century. With the passage of time, the devotion to San Fermín became linked to the livestock fairs and the transportation of animals to the point that the current co-patron of Navarra is the image of the Pamplona festival and the red scarf of the participants remembers the beheading of the saint.
And the American writer Hemingway (1899-1961), Nobel Prize winner in Literature in 1954, who arrived in Pamplona in 1923, was impressed by the bulls and bullfighters, the fun, the food and drink, and wrote the book Fiestawhich marked the international launch of the Sanfermines. This text is responsible for the Sanfermines being known throughout the world and for the old town of the Navarrese city becoming a hive of foreign visitors every July.
At 10 in the morning on June 1, the workers of the Hnos. Aldaz Remiro carpentry shop began the installation of the bullfighting fence, which uses 900 posts, 2,700 planks, 2,500 wedges and 80 doors, and the sale began. online of tickets to watch the races from the square itself at the price of 12 euros for June 7, 12 and 13, and 7 euros for the remaining days.
The Casa de Misericordia, an institution that manages a nursing home, is the owner of the bullring and is responsible for everything related to bullfighting in Pamplona through a municipal concession since 1921. Its representatives hire the ranches and bullfighters for the afternoon festivities and organize the running of the bulls, so that the profits help support the more than 500 people who are in their care. Thus, the announced bulls arrive in Pamplona in advance and rest in the Corrales del Gas, where they can receive visits from fans and curious people at the price of 4 euros for adults and free entry for children under 12 years of age. Attendance at the raffle and the bullfighting section in the bullring costs 15 euros.
At the same time, the city council is responsible for the safety of the morning races. Thus, the so-called Round Table has decided that no one remains in the ring of the bullring before the arrival of the bulls so as not to hinder their transfer to the corrals, and has carried out an exhaustive inspection of the safety of the balconies from where many people watch the passage of the bulls. Likewise, the council has announced the sanctions that could be imposed on those who hinder the normal development of the bulls, and which range between 600 euros for minor infractions (wearing inappropriate footwear or carrying backpacks), to 6,000 for serious ones (touching bulls, using drones or running under the influence of alcohol or drugs) and up to 60,000 euros for the use of skates or bicycles.
For those who prefer – and can – see the bulls from the balconies along the route, the Destino Navarra company offers places in different sections, and prices range between 125 and 300 euros per day, and include coffee, juices and pasta and, in some cases, the assistance of a local guide who informs clients about the history of the bulls and the behavior of bulls and runners.
On the 7th, at 8 in the morning, a rocket will announce the opening of the doors of the Corrales de Santo Domingo – where the bulls arrived the night before in the so-called ‘encierrillo’ – and the race will begin: first, the Santo Domingo slope – with a gradient of 10 percent; then, the Plaza Consistorial and Mercaderes street, which ends in a 90-degree curve, Estafeta street, then —the longest stretch—, and, finally, Telefónica and the access alley to the square; in total, 875 meters, which the bulls and runners – between 2,000 and 3,500 – usually cover in three minutes and 30 seconds, at a speed of 14.58 km/hour.
The bulls that will open the 2026 Sanfermines will be Fuente Ymbro, followed by Cebada Gago, Victoriano del Río, Álvaro Núñez, José Escolar, La Palmosilla, Miura and Jandilla. The fair is made up of eight bullfights, in which the double performance of Roca Rey and the presence of Morante stand out, a bullfighting show and a bullfight.
Everything is ready for the chupinazo; At 12 in the morning on Monday the 6th the party begins, which will last until midnight on the 14th, when the young people sing ‘poor me’. Meanwhile, Pamplona stands as the world capital of outdoor fun, the risk of runners in the running of the bulls and the passion of fighting in the bullring.