Horn-free zone as bull-run kicks off! - 09.07.2010

THOUSANDS packed the streets of Pamplona last Tuesday for the opening of the famous San Fermin bull-runs.

But on the eve of Spain’s World Cup semi-final against Germany, the dreaded, ear-splitting vuvuzela horns were banned, for fear of unsettling the animals.
The Mayor of Pamplona also said the noisy South African trumpets would cause a considerable nuisance to neighbours!
Nevertheless, crowds jammed the town hall square, most dressed in the traditional outfit of white shirts and red handkerchiefs, to watch as city officials let off a firecracker at noon to open the nine-day festival.
The spectacle of the bull-runs, popularised through Ernest Hemingway’s 1926 novel The Sun Also Rises, involves watching runners try to out-distance the six bulls released every day to run from their corral through the old town’s narrow, cobbled, stone streets.
The bulls have claimed 15 lives since 1911 and each year, dozens of runners are injured. A 27-year-old Spaniard was gored to death by a bull last year, his neck, heart and lungs being pierced in front of the hordes of tourists.
It was the first fatality in 15 years, and  the British Embassy warned Britons to consider the risks they faced by joining in the run this time.
The festival also features a range of concerts, street parties and dances, and there was even more excitement than usual during Wednesday’s run as spectators eagerly awaited the Spain-Germany clash in the evening.
Several runners were knocked over in the rush, and some were trampled on by the animals, weighing more than 1,100 pounds, but there were no reports of gorings or life-threatening injuries.
An 18-year-old Australian lad, who suffered an eye injury, and a 20-year old Spaniard, with multiple cuts, were both taken to hospital, but their injuries were not deemed serious.
The 8am daily run is the highlight of the nine-day street drinking festival, and comes after a full day and night of hard partying.
The festival’s opening run was marred when Basque separatists, prohibited from displaying their flag on a huge stage, unfurled a banner demanding that terrorists convicted of bombings and killings be moved to prisons closer to their relatives.
Baton-wielding police intervened, and fighting also broke out between supporters and opponents of the ETA Basque separatist group.
Some hurled beer and champagne bottles at officers, but ended up hitting people in the crowd instead, according to witnesses.