PAMPLONA, Spain - Thousands of delirious revellers were gathering in the small plaza outside Pamplona's municipal office Thursday to celebrate the start of Spain's most famous festival: San Fermin - the running of the bulls.
The festivities begin at noon with the firing of a rocket above the crowd and the immortal words: "Men and women of Pamplona, Long Live San Fermin!" After that it's nine days of drinking, drinking, and more drinking. Oh, and a daily dash down the cobblestone streets ahead of bulls weighing more than six tonnes.
The first of eight bull runs begin Friday morning, but the party starts Thursday with the traditional "chupinazo." A "chupin" is a small rocket.
From then on, Pamplona is converted into a 24-hour-a-day party town, with ancient streets packed with young and old. Many cavort into the early hours, then go straight from the bars to the famous 825-metre route where the bull runs take place every day at 8 a.m.
Pamplona's population of about 250,000 is expected to rise to more than 1.5 million during the festival, with visitors from the United States, Europe and virtually every other corner of the world pouring in.
The San Fermin festival dates back to the late 16th century, though its roots reach back further, to the era when Spain was first Christianized.
The festival became famous when it was immortalized in Ernest Hemingway's 1926 novel The Sun Also Rises. A bronze bust of the writer stands proudly outside the bullring where the bull runs end, and Hemingway T-shirts and other knickknacks can be purchased on nearly every street corner.
Not everyone in Pamplona looks forward to the San Fermin festival. Many locals choose this week to leave town, taking advantage of special offers by travel agents to escape the madness of the bull runs. Countless shops choose to close, boarding up windows to protect merchandise from the throngs of partygoers.
Animal rights activists also make an appearance every year to protest the runs, and bullfighting in general. Several hundred activists ran the length of the famous bull run topless or nearly nude on Tuesday to highlight what they see as cruel treatment of animals.
While the runs and subsequent bullfights are nearly always fatal for the bulls, they can also be dangerous for the runners.
Since record-keeping began in 1924, 13 people have been killed during the runs. The last was a 22-year-old American, Matthew Peter Tassio, who was gored to death in 1995.
Many more people are injured, though officials say the runs have gotten safer as more people have heeded advice on ways not to get hurt. One official piece of advice - if you fall in front of a bull, don't lift your head or you might get it knocked off.
Don't drink too much is another important piece of advice, but one many are expected to ignore.
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