Under nine mornings, thousands of runners – and a group of bulls – run the 846 meters on Pamplona's cobblestone streets. The people have a mission: escape being gored by the approximately 600 kilo heavy bulls.
The festival attracts a million-strong audience. In addition to the thousands who from balconies and barricades watch the bull run on site, there is a large audience that follows the TV-broadcast runs.
After this year's initial run, the Spanish newspaper El País writes on Monday that some participants have been injured, but it is not clear how.
Annually, about ten participants are injured and deaths also occur. The deadliest day in the festival's history is reported to be July 13, 1980, when four runners were killed by two bulls.
The bulls that are sent out in the runs are killed later the same day by bullfighters. Animal rights activists have long since branded the tradition as animal cruelty and torture.
