After 1088 days the bulls are back on the streets of Pamplona.

After a two-year Covid break, shortly before 8 a.m. on Thursday, the fighting bulls ran through the narrow streets of the old town to the bullring.

A rocket fires the starting shot, accompanied by the call "Viva San Fermín, gora San Fermín!".

After 2 minutes and 35 seconds they have covered the 875 meter distance - a bit slow for this stable, as experts complained.

Among the runners, who traditionally wear white shirts and red neckerchiefs, five injured required treatment on the first morning.

Hans Christian Roessler

Political correspondent for the Iberian Peninsula and the Maghreb based in Madrid.

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It can also turn out differently.

In the past 100 years, 16 men lost their lives in the running of the bulls, the last fatality occurred in 2009. The animals, on the other hand, have no chance of surviving: they are killed in the arena in the evening.

In 2019, more than 13,000 people ran with the bulls, the archaic ritual called "encierro" was also described by Ernest Hemingway in his novel "Fiesta".

After the pandemic, there could be even more this time.

In 2022, three "Fiestas de San Fermín" will be celebrated at once, the mayor comforted the fans of the traditional bull hunt.

Previously, for more than 400 years, it had only been canceled because of the Spanish Civil War.

The city in north-west Spain of 200,000 people normally attracts more than a million people - many from the USA.

Pamplona is fully booked these days.

Even the traditional opening on the narrow town hall square, which was crowded by thousands, was an emotional event this time.

From his wheelchair on the town hall balcony, former goalkeeper and football coach Juan Carlos Unzué, who comes from Pamplona and suffers from progressive muscle paralysis, gave the “chupinazo”, the symbolic starting signal.

Most of them don’t let the sharp increase in corona incidence spoil the fun of partying, which is more than 1100 cases among those over 60;

Queen Letizia has also been infected.

Doctors warn of an eighth wave.

Among the sanfermínes are the protests by animal rights activists.

This time, 2016 had a political aftermath for a different reason.

After the gang rape of a young woman, the Spanish left-wing government tightened sex criminal law in May, which now states: "Only a yes is a yes".

Pamplona is now cracking down on sexual harassment and assault.

Women complained again and again that they were treated like fair game by the bull runners and the fans.