If you are a fan of the Bollywood movie "Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara" then you might know about Spain's San Fermin Festival or the bull-running festival. Also, you might have wandered to witness it someday. Well, this year is turning out to be disastrous in terms of events happening around the world. From Cricket World Cup to Olympics, everything stands postponed, and this San Fermin Festival of Spain is not left behind.
Spain's annual San Fermin bull-running festival scheduled for July has been cancelled due to the Coronavirus outbreak. The festival draws thousands of participants every year, many wearing traditional white shirts with red scarves.
Spain’s San Fermin Fiesta is an eight-day festival where fighting bulls race through Pamplona 's streets every morning. Due to the Coronavirus outbreak, it is the first time in four decades that the event has been called off.
"As expected as it was, it still leaves us deeply sad," said Ana Elizalde, acting mayor, announcing the suspension.
The festival, which draws hundreds of thousands of participants from Spain and around the world, gained international attention from Ernest Hemingway's 1926 novel "The Sun Also Rises."
What Happens At The Festival?
The intensely religious festival is held in memory of a Christian convert from the 3rd century. Since the 1400s, the bull running has been held in Pamplona, Spain. The festival runners gather in the streets from July 6 through July 14. At 8 AM 6 bulls and six steers are released with the sound of a firecracker. Down the road, a wild, life-threatening sprint of 903 yards ensues.
Together with the bull runs and afternoon bullfights, the fiesta involves round-the-clock singing, dancing, and drinking by white-clothed revellers and red bandanas. Special ceremonies in memory of the saint also take place.
Other Occasions When the Festival Was Called Off:
The famous annual party was last called off in the northern Spanish city when political unrest broke out in 1978.
It also lost one day in 1997, after ETA separatists killed a Basque politician.
San Fermin Fiesta was also suspended in 1937 and 1938 during Spain's Civil War.
The organisers of the festival said that they don’t know when could be the festival revived this year given the unpredictable outbreak.
The city is also likely to take a substantial economic hit from the suspension.
Spain is the 4th most-affected Coronavirus country, and it has witnessed 283,849 infections and 27,118 deaths till now.
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