San Fermin 2026: Your Guide to Pamplona’s Running of the Bulls

By Camila Rossi, Culture writer, Buenos Aires & Barcelona

Updated June 28, 2026 · Camila Rossi

When Is San Fermín 2026?

San Fermín 2026 runs from 6 to 14 July. The dates are the same every year: nine days of continuous celebration honouring Pamplona’s patron saint. The party barely pauses between day and night.

The festival opens with a bang. At noon on 6 July, a rocket called the chupinazo (opening rocket) is fired from the balcony of the Plaza Consistorial (the town hall). Thousands of people pack the square below, all in white, and roar back “¡Viva San Fermín!” (Long live San Fermín!). That single moment kicks off nine days of fiesta.

Pamplona sits in the Navarre region of northern Spain. It is a small city, which means the festival takes over every street and plaza. You can check the full official programme on the spain.info festival page.

What Actually Happens at the Encierro?

The encierro (bull run) is the part that made Pamplona famous worldwide. It happens every morning from 7 to 14 July at exactly 8:00 a.m.

Six fighting bulls and a group of steers are released into the narrow streets of the old town. They charge along a route of roughly 875 metres toward the Plaza de Toros (the bullring). The whole thing is over in just 2 to 4 minutes.

Runners dress in the traditional white with the red sash and neckerchief. They try to stay just ahead of the bulls for a stretch of the route. It is fast, packed and genuinely dangerous, with people gored or trampled most years. The Running of the Bulls has a long history of both thrill and serious injury.

Should You Run With the Bulls?

For most visitors, honestly: no. The run carries real risk, and the streets are slick and packed with people. The bulls are fast, and they do not slow down for tourists.

If you do not know the route or the rhythm of the herd, you become a danger to yourself and everyone around you. Plenty of locals and experienced visitors watch from a balcony or behind a barrier instead. That is the smart, safe way to experience your first encierro.

If you still want to run, arrive well before 7:30 a.m. and stay completely sober. Study the route beforehand. Do not bring a phone, camera or selfie stick into the run, because the authorities can remove you from the course for carrying one.

What Else Happens Beyond the Bull Run?

The encierro is only the morning headline. The rest of the day is packed with events, food and music that most visitors actually come for.

If you are building a playlist for the trip, check out the Spanish songs everyone is playing in 2026. A few of them will almost certainly be blasting from the bars during the fiesta.

What Should You Wear to San Fermín?

The dress code is simple, and everyone follows it. Wear white from head to toe, then add two red pieces.

• El pañuelo (the neckerchief): a red scarf tied around the neck. People keep it knotted from the opening rocket to the very end of the festival.
• La faja (the sash): a long red band of cloth wrapped around the waist.

The look is part of the magic. A sea of white and red fills every street, every bar, every plaza. You can buy the whole kit cheaply from stalls all over the city when you arrive, so there is no need to pack it.

Is It Ethical to Go to San Fermín?

This deserves a straight answer. The bull run and the afternoon bullfights are controversial on animal-welfare grounds. The bulls that run in the morning are killed in the bullring that same afternoon. Animal-rights groups protest the festival every year, and many people refuse to attend the run or the corridas (bullfights) at all.

It is also true that San Fermín is much bigger than the bulls. A huge share of visitors and locals never go near the run or the bullfights. They come for the music, the food, the fireworks and the nine-day street party that takes over the entire city.

You can experience the joy of the fiesta and skip the parts you find cruel. That choice is yours to make, and it is worth thinking about before you book.

Many visitors experience the full nine days of San Fermín without watching a single bull run or bullfight. The music, food, fireworks and street celebrations stand entirely on their own.

Why Is San Fermín So Famous?

One book did most of the heavy lifting. Ernest Hemingway visited Pamplona in the 1920s and put the fiesta at the centre of his 1926 novel The Sun Also Rises (titled Fiesta in Europe). The book turned a local saint’s day into a global bucket-list event.

Hemingway is still a kind of unofficial mascot of the city, with a statue near the bullring. His descriptions of the encierro, the afternoon corridas, and the late-night wine are a big reason Pamplona sits on so many travel lists today.

San Fermín is also one of Spain’s most vivid living traditions. Our guide to La Tomatina 2026 covers another iconic Spanish festival happening just weeks later in Buñol. And if Hemingway’s Pamplona makes you curious about Spanish-language literature, these 10 contemporary authors are worth exploring.

How Does San Fermín End?

It ends on a tender note. At midnight on 14 July, the crowd gathers again in the Plaza Consistorial. They hold lit candles and sing a sad little song called Pobre de Mí (Poor Me).

The words mourn that the fiesta is over for another year. It is the emotional opposite of the loud opening rocket, and many people find it surprisingly moving, even if they arrived only a day or two before.

What Does the Daily Schedule Look Like?

Here is the day-by-day breakdown of the major events during San Fermín 2026.

Frequently asked questions