
It has become the most internationally renowned festival in Spain, with over 1 million people attending each year between 6 and 14 July. It has been immortalized in literature by Ernest Hemingway and it is an explosive, passionate and occasionally gory festival that is an important element of Spanish heritage.
It is of course, the festival of San Fermin in the city of Pamplona in Spain, although most people around the world refer to the event as the Pamplona Bull Run, or just simply Pamps. While its most famous event is the 'encierro', or the running of the bulls, this weeklong celebration involves many other traditional events and is held in honour of St Fermin, one of the patron saints of the area.
Every July hundreds of mad Spaniards and tourists run through the streets trying to get out of the way of these rampant bulls, down an 825-metre (0.51 mile) stretch of narrow streets of a section of the old town of Pamplona. The actual running of the bulls involves people running in front of six bulls and another six steers. Yes, you know the scene - you have seen it on the news every year.
The encierro is an experience even just for spectators and is a spectacle that is defined by the level of risk and the physical ability of the runners. The encierro is run each morning at 8am between 6 and 14 July and is one of the highlights of the entire San Fermin Festival.
At noon on 6 July the festival commences with the setting off a chupinazo, or firecracker, from a city hall balcony. There are literally tens-of-thousands of people celebrating the start of the festival around the city hall square.
On 7 July thousands of people accompany the 15th-century statue of Saint Fermin through the old part of Pamplona.
Each morning of the festival there is the parade of giants and big heads. These giants figures are amazingly more than 150 years old.
Between 7 and 14 July there is a bullfight at 6:30pm involving the six bulls that were driven to the bullring during the morning's Bull Run. While the bullring of the city is the fourth largest in the world, it is full every evening.
Every night a firework spectacle is held at the citadel park. Thousands of people watch the fireworks each night. It is best to get to the area early to get a good seat somewhere on the grass around the citadel.