Sanfermin festival in Pamplona: Political opening with pro-Palestinians!

Sanfermin festival in Pamplona: Political opening with pro-Palestinians!

Today, on July 6, 2025, the traditional Sanfermín festival opened in Pamplona, ​​Spain, under a remarkably political auspices. The pro-Palestinian group “Yala Nafarroa con Palestina” performed the iconic “Chupinazo” at 12 p.m. sharp, marking the official start of a week of celebrations. This reports Radio Lippe. Given the current world situation, especially the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, which began in October 2023, the platform wanted to send a signal: “to give Palestine a voice,” said Eduardo Ibero Albo, one of the activists.

The opening ceremony was led by three members of the group who accuse Israel of serious crimes in the Gaza Strip. These political accents shed a new light on the festival, which is deeply rooted in tradition but is also regularly accompanied by protests from animal rights activists who view the bull hunt as animal cruelty.

Tradition meets protest

Celebrated since the end of the 16th century, the Sanfermines are dedicated to the city's saint, San Fermín, and attract thousands of visitors from all over the world every year. The highlight of the festival, the bull hunt, takes place from July 7th to 14th. Every morning six fighting bulls are chased through an 875 meter long track into the bullfighting arena. Injuries are regularly recorded among runners, who predominantly come from the young population. Every year, around 20,000 animals lose their lives during the festivities, which calls into action animal rights activists who have been protesting against this tradition for many years star.

Recent reports indicate that social acceptance of bull hunting continues to wane. Aida Gascón, a well-known animal rights activist, emphasizes that a majority of the population is against bull hunting. Protests that point out the grievances with posters such as “Torture is neither art nor culture” have increased significantly in recent years. Protesters dress in white suits and wear red bandanas, a hallmark of the festival, while wearing symbolic bloody colors.

A global spectacle

Despite these critical voices, the fascination for the Sanfermín festival remains unbroken. A record number of 1.5 million participants were already counted at the event in 2023. Before the celebrations, the hotel rooms are in high demand; occupancy is an impressive 90 percent. Visitors from countries such as Germany, Great Britain, Australia and the USA flock to the city every year to take part in this spectacle, which, in addition to the bullfights, also offers concerts, processions and other attractions. The famous US writer Ernest Hemingway also contributed to putting Pamplona on the global map with his novel “Fiesta”. So reported n-tv.

So the Sanfermín Festival is not only a place for tradition and celebration, but also a platform for social and political issues that can make viewers and participants think. Opening day remains an important moment – ​​for both those celebrating and those protesting.