More than 12,000 revelers gathered in the center of Pamplona, northern Spain, on Monday to celebrate the start of the San Fermin festival, famous for its running of the bulls. The festival began with the traditional 'Chupinazo' — a small rocket fired from the town hall balcony over a packed plaza.

Participants celebrated by pouring red wine and grape juice over each other, waving red scarves, singing, dancing, and shouting 'San Fermin!'.

The first bull run is scheduled for Tuesday morning and will take place daily until July 14. At 8:00 a.m., several 600-kilogram fighting bulls will be released through the narrow streets of the Old Quarter along an 848-meter course to the bullring, with hundreds of runners ahead of them.

Dozens of people are injured each year, and there have been 16 fatalities since 1924. In the evening, the same bulls are killed in a bullfight. Other festival events include concerts and parades.

As in previous years, animal rights activists protested the bull runs, with dozens seen wearing bull horns and covered in red paint.

Pamplona and the running of the bulls provided the backdrop for US author Ernest Hemingway's first major novel, 'The Sun Also Rises,' which turns 100 this year. Hemingway's novel helped make the event famous worldwide.

The festival draws visitors from Europe, Australia, Asia, and the United States each year. It dates back to the late 16th century and honors Pamplona's patron saint, San Fermin.

Source: www.dw.com