HOW TO WATCH IT


WATCHING IT FROM THE STREET

The run can be watched from behind the wooden fence which lines the most part of the route. The longest stretch of fencing is at the Town Hall square, and at the end of Mercaderes Street, as well as all along the most part of Estafeta Street and the stretch which goes from the end of that street on into the bull ring.

The fencing is double-lined and the spectators must remain behind the second line of fencing. The first line of fencing is kept clear for runners who need to make a quick exit from the path of the bulls. And in the spacing between the two rows of fencing only the medical teams, the police and perhaps some press photographers are allowed to stand.

To find a good spot behind the fence means taking up position at about 6.30 in the morning. Inevitably, this means waiting round, bored to tears and out of sorts until eight o’clock when the run begins. There is no way you can "book a place in advance". Anyone who wants to see the run must take up their position and hold it. And in the end the view is not so great as the fencing in front tends to block the view quite a bit. The locals don´t tend to watch from behind the fencing. However, if you are a stranger in town and have no way of getting a balcony "seat", and maybe this is going to be your first and last chance to see the run, it could be worth your while to suffer the boredom of the wait. Make sure you go looking for a position at least by 6.30 in the morning and take some warm clothing for the wait in the chilly dawn. Any later than that, it´s going to be very difficult to get even a half-decent view of the run.

One possible place, and somewhat better, is to go down to the starting post. There is a small sloping square just near where the local Museum is and which is looking over the starting place in Santo Domingo. Here, there is no wooden fencing and you look down at the runners gathered round the nitch where they sing their simple paen to the small figure of San Fermin to implore his protection. The stretch which leads down to the pen from where the bulls will be released in just below and the view of the stretch leading up to the Town Hall is quite clear. It´s certainly one of the best spots and of course, for that reason is heavily populated. Get there about 5.30 or 6 o´clock at the latest, in order to get a good position.

WATCHING IT FROM A BALCONY

The best view of the running of the bulls is got from one of the many balconies which line the route. But these belong to people´s private houses and are only accessible through an invitation. When you see someone standing out on their balcony you could simply try to hail them and ask them to let you go up to the balcony. It might work, although these people are usually inundated by "bookings" from their own relatives and friends.

There are also some public buildings which line the route and which have balconies, such as the Town Hall. However, these positions are usually kept for "important visitors". (And if you are one of those, then any advice we can give you is probably superfluous.)

Lately, there has been a growing trend in renting out a balcony, maybe even with breakfast included. You will find telephones numbers on display at the local Tourist Office in Plaza San Francisco (mapa). Tf. 948 206540 and oit.pamplona@cfnavarra.es . You get the numbers there and it´s up to you to make the calls yourself. If you want to rent a balcony the price would vary depending on its position and also what storey it is found (the higher up the balcony, the cheaper the price). If you have a breakfast it will be more expensive, of course. There is a tourist service called Erreka (Curia street Tf. 948 221506) wich along with visits to the city, offers the possibility to see the running of the bulls from a balcony (they explain you all about it), including the breakfast.

FROM THE TERRACES IN THE BULLRING

Another possibility is watch the end of the run from inside the bull stadium. In 2006 the 7th, 8th and 9th of July all the places cost 5,50 €. The rest of the days (the 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th of July) the grada and the andanada cost 4,50 and children under 12 enter for free. While you are waiting to see the runners and bulls come bursting into the ring, you can be entertained by the local band which helps to create some atmosphere as you wait. However, for some people the finish lacks the intensity which you can experience when you watch the run from the narrow streets. On the other hand, on some occasions, it can be get highly intense when there is a pile-up of fallen bodies at the entrance to the ring, which sometimes happens.

Above all, it is simply the most comfortable spot. And immediately after the bulls are put into their pen, some small heifers are let loose inside the ring. These charge round knocking people over and generally provide some fun for the crowd as they try to dodge them.

ON T.V

As a pure spectacle, the best place to watch the run is on the T.V.

Strange but true. Among other reasons, simply because here you can watch the whole run from beginning to end. Even from a balcony you can only cover one stretch, at most. Moreover, on the T.V. they will repeat the most interesting parts in slow motion. The local T.V. broadcasts the run directly each day and in the rest of the country it will be shown on the national networks on the news broadcasts. (On the Basque TV and the national station). Watching the event "live" means that you don´t get that complete coverage that the T.V. can provide. But of course, watching it live does have a colour and intensity which the T.V. can´t transmit..

If you have participated in the run, then you might appear on the box and maybe you have the chance to record it on the video and bring it home to the folks!

ON THE INTERNET

Last years there were some attemps to show the running of the bulls on the Internet. Most of them failed. Kukuxumusu prepares every year an special summary with the best information and photos of the running of the bulls.

Remember that the one place that you can´t watch the run is from inside the course. You are in there just to run and nothing else.

Bear in mind that the run is a very short spectacle. It will normally last only for a couple of minutes. As pure spectacle it is no great shakes. The excitement lies in its intensity, the potential risk, the atmosphere surrounding it, the shouts and cries, and the general sense of fear that those thundering bulls can instill in one.

TO THE ENCIERROMETER