The Festival of San Fermin

Every year from July 6-14, all eyes are on the city of Pamplona, Spain, which comes alive with the Festival of San Fermin -- made famous by the annual running of the bulls.

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Photo By: Getty Images

Photo By: Reuters

Photo By: Getty Images

Each morning, 6 bulls run through the streets of Pamplona from their corral to the bullring, where, later in the afternoon, a bullfight completes the ritual.

Revelers are sprayed with water as they celebrate during the "Chupinazo," which marks the start of the San Fermin Festival in front of Pamplona's town hall with the launch of a firecracker. Tens of thousands of people pack the streets for the kick-off to Spain's most well-known fiesta.

Each morning is celebrated with the parade of "gigantes y cabezudos" or "giants and big heads." The huge figures are more than 150 years old and roughly 13 feet tall.

Runners sprint alongside bulls on Santo Domingo Street, rounding the infamous "Dead Man's Corner," named for its slippery, sharp turn.

The picador, on horseback, helps the matadors during the first stage of the bullfight. He uses a lance to prod the bull, causing the animal to straighten its charge toward the matador and lower its head to prepare it for the next stage of the fight. Multiple bullfights are performed throughout the days of the festival.

On the first day of the festival, the Pena Voladora parade makes its way along Estafeta Street in Pamplona, Spain.

Woodchoppers carve tree trunks in the Aizkolaritza, a Basque wood-chopping competition that's just one of the many events during the San Fermin Festival.

Festivalgoers hold up their red handkerchiefs, known as pañuelos, during opening day.

A fighting bull collides with runners along Estafeta Street during the San Fermin Festival.

Fireworks mark the end of the festival's first day, before participants rest up for another day of running for their lives through the northern Spanish streets.

A Toro del Fuego, or flaming bull, is run through the streets of Pamplona on the second day of the San Fermin Running of the Bulls, with kids and adults alike dodging the flying sparks.

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The Festival of San Fermin

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