Pamplona draws thousands of revelers for the San Fermín bull-running festival

PAMPLONA, Spain (AP) — Tens of thousands of revelers packed the main square in Pamplona’s, northern Spain, on Sunday to celebrate the traditional “chupinazo” firework blast that marks the start of the San Fermín bull-running festival.

Nearly everyone, including the throngs of foreign tourists who come to the event, was dressed in the traditional garb of white trousers and shirt with red sash and neckerchief.

They sang. They shouted. And they drank alcohol with abandon.

As the rocket that starts the official party was fired off, many doused each other with red or sparkling wine.

The highlight of the controversial nine-day festival is the early morning “encierros,” or bull runs, starting on Monday, when thousands of brave or foolhardy souls sprint to avoid six bulls charging along a winding cobblestoned route to the city’s bullring.

While gorings are not rare, many more people suffer contusions from falls as spectators watch from balconies and wooden barricades set up along the course. The spectacle is televised nationally.

The rest of each day is for eating, drinking, dancing and cultural entertainment, including bull fights where the animals that run in the morning are slain by professional matadors each afternoon.

The festival was made internationally famous by Ernest Hemingway ’s classic 1926 novel “ The Sun Also Rises ” about American bohemians wasting away in Europe.

Wilson reported from Barcelona, Spain.

Revellers start celebrating early as they wait for the launch of the 'Chupinazo' rocket, marking the official opening of the 2025 San Fermín festival, nine days of non-stop partying during Pamplona's famed running of the bulls, in Pamplona, Spain, Sunday, July 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

A reveler plays with a ball during the start of nine days of uninterrupted partying in Pamplona's famed running-of-the-bulls festival in Pamplona, Spain, Sunday, July 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

A reveller celebrates early as she waits for the launch of the 'Chupinazo' rocket, marking the official opening of the 2025 San Fermín festival, a nine-day stretch of non-stop partying during Pamplona's famed running of the bulls, in Pamplona, Spain, Sunday, July 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Revelers drink from leather wine sacks as they pack the main square during the official start of nine days of uninterrupted partying in Pamplona's famed running-of-the-bulls festival in Pamplona, Spain, Sunday, July 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

A reveler drinks wine as he takes part in the official start of nine days of uninterrupted partying in Pamplona's famed running-of-the-bulls festival in Pamplona, Spain, Sunday, July 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Revelers pack the main square during the start of nine days of uninterrupted partying in Pamplona's famed running-of-the-bulls festival in Pamplona, Spain, Sunday, July 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

A Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded three others in the Russian city of Voronezh, local officials said Sunday.

A young woman died overnight in a hospital intensive care unit after debris from a drone fell on a house during the attack on Saturday, regional Gov. Alexander Gusev said on Telegram.

Three other people were wounded and more than 10 apartment buildings, private houses and a high school were damaged, he said, adding that air defenses shot down 17 drones over Voronezh. The city is home to just over 1 million people and lies some 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

The attack came the day after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight into Friday, killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials.

For only the second time in the nearly four-year war, Russia used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in a clear warning to Kyiv and NATO.

The intense barrage and the launch of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile followed reports of major progress in talks between Ukraine and its allies on how to defend the country from further aggression by Moscow if a U.S.-led peace deal is struck.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday in his nightly address that Ukrainian negotiators “continue to communicate with the American side.”

Chief negotiator Rustem Umerov was in contact with U.S. partners Saturday, he said.

Separately, Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia targeted Ukraine with 154 drones overnight into Sunday and 125 were shot down.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

This photo provided by the Ukrainian Security Service on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, shows a fragment believed to be a part of a Russian Oreshnik intermediate range hypersonic ballistic missile that hit the Lviv region. (Ukrainian Security Service via AP)

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, second left, listens to British Defense Secretary John Healey during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)