Annual San Fermin Festival in Pamplona

This Saturday the 6th, the Sanfermines 2023 begins, with the "chupinazo which will take place at 12:00 p.m. in the Plaza Consistorial of Pamplona.

The festival is named after Fermín de Amiens, born in Pompaelo (present-day Pamplona) who was a Christian missionary, first bishop of Amiens (whose church he ordered to be built) and was beheaded at the age of 31. A mistaken belief is to think that San Fermín is the patron saint of Pamplona exclusively, when he is the patron saint of all of Navarra.

The celebrations begin with the launching of the chupinazo and end at midnight on July 14 with the farewell song “Poor me”.

The most famous activities of San Fermines are the confinements, which consist of an 849m route in front of the bulls that ends in the bullring. They take place every day between July 7 and 14 at 8:00 a.m., with an average duration of two to three minutes.

The Sanfermines have an origin that dates back to the Middle Ages, although their worldwide fame is a recent phenomenon, also linked to the dissemination that Ernest Hemingway gave them through his book “Fiesta”.

Three independent celebrations take place during these days in which the population of Pamplona goes from 190,000 inhabitants to more than 1,000,000 people:

* Religious acts in honor of San Fermín

* Trade fairs

* Bullfights

This year, the SanFermines will have 437 events that you can see in detail in this Web page.

Do you dare to go to the confinements of San Fermin? If the answer is yes, here are some tips  to be able to enjoy the party without suffering any altercations 😉