Running of the Bulls 2021 Officially Cancelled

The mayor of Pamplona, Enrique Maya, along with the Pamplona City Council have officially announced that the Running of the Bulls, and the larger San Fermin festival will not be held in 2021. Given the current situation with COVID-19, the city of Pamplona and the region of Navarra are not prepared to host the event.

The mayor cited the fact that the rate of infections remains high, while the rate of vaccinations is not as fast as they had hoped. He said, “the rate of vaccination progresses much slower than expected, and only 202 people out of 1,000 have received one dose and 83 out of 1,000 have received both” when “the forecasts spoke of 70% of the population being vaccinated in June. For this reason, it is necessary to make the decision now, however painful it may be, since we are just two months away from San Fermín”.

Navarra is one of the Spanish regions with the highest incidence of COVID cases, with 432 cases in the last two weeks per 100,000 inhabitants. More than 200 people hospitalized, with 35 of them in intensive care units.

Maya emphasized that the festival will return in 2022, and will be an exceptional one, since three years of fiesta will be lived in just one year.

The city released the following video to communicate the importance of prioritizing the health of your neighbor, even though missing the festival is a big disappointment: