Image by San Fermin Pamplona—Navarra from Pixabay

The Guardian and several other news media outlets reported today that the famous Festival of San Fermin, also known as The Running of the Bulls, has been postponed indefinitely in Pamplona, Spain, because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Spain has been fighting one of the most devastating outbreaks of the virus in the world. Since the panedmic started, Spain has had more than 200,000 confirmed cases and more than 21,000 deaths, including more than 350 people in the northern region of Navarra where Pamplona is located.

“In this context, there’s no place for fireworks, bullfights or bull runs,” Ana Elizalde, the acting mayor of Pamplona, said in an interview for The Guardian.

The nine-day centuries-old event, named after Saint San Fermin, started at 8 a.m. every day when six bulls are released into the narrow streets of Pamplona. The mozos, anyone adventurous enough to participate, run with the bulls. “As onlookers pack the side alleys, the mozos jockey for a favorable position on the street,” European travel authority Rick Steves wrote on his blog. “For serious runners, this is like surfing: You hope to catch a good wave and ride it. A good run lasts only 15 or 20 seconds. You know you are really running with the bull when you feel the breath of the animal on your pants.”

Steves said that the runs lasted approximately 131 seconds. When they ended, the mozos go to a bar, eat breakfast, and watch reruns of the run on TV.

Read the full article about the postponement in The Guardian:
Non-running of the bulls: San Fermín festival suspended over Covid-19