Catch San Fermin’s Pamplona bull runs live on RTVE

EXPATRIATES wondering what all the San Fermin fuss is about should tune in next week to the public Spanish channel RTVE for coverage of the Pamplona bull run festivities, starting July 6 and ending July 14.

The station has been broadcasting footage of the celebration going on 33 years now. This year the 80-person filming crew will have 25 high-definition cameras at their disposal, one of which will be suspended from a zip line running the length of calle Estafeta, where the encierros, or bull runs, take place.

Elena Sanchez and Javier Solano, hosts/presenters of the special San Fermin programme, want to make sure that no one misses a single detail of the adrenaline, excitement and fear of the races. Solano, marking this year as his 25th San Fermin, says the festival has evolved, attracting bigger crowds and complicating the run.

He also warns that the bulls in the first run on July 7 are enormous, very fast and very dangerous – which should make for an impressive start to the festivities.

Interested viewers should tune in July 6 starting at 11am to watch the wine-soaked opening party, the chupinazo. They will have to be up bright and early, however, to watch the bulls chase participants through the streets. From July 7 to 14 the programme airs from 7.15am to 8.30am.