1 day until San Fermín 2026.
Tomorrow at noon the chupinazo (the rocket launch that opens San Fermín on July 6) starts Pamplona’s running of the bulls. Encierro watches this city every day of the year because our instructors are mozos (runners in the encierro) who will be on these stones themselves this week. This encierro news July 2026 briefing covers what changed in the final 24 hours before the fiesta.
Orange Heat Alert for Opening Day in Pamplona
Diario de Navarra, July 5, 2026
AEMET, the Spanish state weather agency, has activated an orange alert for high temperatures in Pamplona on July 6, from 13:00 to 20:00. The day will start at 19 degrees Celsius at 7:00 and climb to 39 degrees by 17:00, with roughly 33 degrees expected at the noon chupinazo, when some 12,000 people pack the 2,502 square meters of the Plaza Consistorial. The agency forecasts intense mugginess and very high UV radiation, and the pattern holds all week: maximums of 40 on Tuesday, 39 Wednesday, 40 Thursday, 38 Friday and 39 Saturday. Read the original article.
Orain reports this is the summer’s second heat wave, with central and southern Navarra reaching 40 to 41 degrees Monday. Read the Orain report.
Policía Nacional Adds 1,000 Agents With European Support Teams
Pamplona Actual, July 5, 2026
Adding to the joint security deployment we reported on July 4, the Policía Nacional presented its own San Fermín operation on Sunday: 1,000 agents active from July 5 through July 14. The deployment includes cavalry, canine units, bomb disposal specialists and an aerial unit feeding live drone and helicopter images to control centers. Officers from France, Italy and Germany will patrol alongside Spanish police to assist foreign visitors in their own languages, and identification wristbands for children are available at the Jefatura Superior on calle General Chinchilla. Read the original article.
Arrivals Begin as 2025 Data Shows 424,369 Participants
Diario de Navarra, July 5, 2026
Trains and buses began delivering the first wave of visitors this weekend. Last year San Fermín drew 424,369 participants: 92,088 Pamplona residents, 116,514 day visitors and 215,767 tourists, with nearly one in four attending for the first time. Among foreign visitors, France led with 27.1 percent and the United States was second at 17.8 percent.
“Mucha gente me ha dicho que es mala idea correr el encierro y no lo haré, pero estoy emocionado por ver la ciudad.” (A lot of people have told me running the encierro is a bad idea and I will not do it, but I am excited to see the city.) Alex Stanley, a 21 year old American visitor, to Diario de Navarra. Read the original article.
Bill Hillmann Will Attempt 100 Encierros for the Fiesta Centenary
Diario de Noticias de Navarra, July 4, 2026
Chicago writer and veteran runner Bill Hillmann, who has run San Fermín since 2005 and suffered gorings in 2014 and 2017, arrived in Pamplona on July 2 with a project: run 100 encierros over two months in honor of the centenary of Hemingway’s Fiesta, the novel that first brought him here. His route includes Pamplona, Tudela, San Sebastián de los Reyes, Cuéllar, Tafalla, Estella and other towns, including smaller runs with vaquillas (young cows released in local festival arenas). He warns the Pamplona runs remain dangerous because of their speed and crowding.
“Es difícil correr bien y solo los corredores muy locos, atléticos y valientes pueden hacerlo.” (It is hard to run well, and only very crazy, athletic and brave runners can do it.) Read the original article.
Mayor Asiron Calls for Respect on the Eve of the Fiesta
Orain, July 5, 2026
Hours before the chupinazo, Pamplona mayor Joseba Asiron gave an interview from the Ayuntamiento balcony reviewing the main changes for 2026. Facing his seventh and final Sanfermines of this legislature, Asiron called for respect, above all for women’s freedom, and said he is proud the fiesta has kept its popular character. Read the original article.
First Woman Joins Pamplona’s Municipal Txistulari Band
Naiz, July 5, 2026
Ainhoa González, 28, has become the first woman in the more than eighty year history of the Iruñeko Txistulari Taldea, the municipal band of txistularis (players of the txistu, the traditional Basque flute) that accompanies Pamplona’s official ceremonies.
“Mi elección demuestra la evolución en el mundo del txistu, pero casi más de la sociedad.” (My selection shows the evolution of the txistu world, but almost more of society.) Read the original article.
Coral Santiago Pays Tribute to Joaquín Madurga
Pamplona Actual, July 5, 2026
The 50th anniversary of the jota (a traditional Navarrese song and dance form) Ofrenda a San Fermín, which we covered on July 4, was marked Sunday with a tribute at the Iglesia de Santiago in the Txantrea. The Coral Santiago honored composer Joaquín Madurga and recognized the soloists who have carried the piece across five decades, from Nieves Madurga, the first soprano to sing it, to current soloists Marta Sola and Patxi Artuch. July 7 will mark exactly fifty years since its first performance. Read the original article.
A 19th Pañuelico for Mario Conella
Diario de Navarra, July 5, 2026
Mario Conella Zemmeri, a 62 year old Italian from Cisterna di Latina, returns tomorrow to raise the pañuelico (the red neckerchief tied on when the fiesta opens) for the 19th time. A regular since 2004, he was kept away by the pandemic and then by a brain tumor diagnosed in 2020, which he overcame after hadron therapy in Pavia. “Nada está escrito.” (Nothing is written.) That is the phrase he says he brings to these fiestas. Read the original article.
From the Archive
Before the first run, see our breakdown of how fast the encierro actually moves, section by section, and our guide to how experienced mozos read crowd density on the route.
Compiled by the Encierro editorial team. encierro.com tracks Pamplona’s encierro, its city, and its fiesta year-round, with instruction from active bull runners who have run San Fermín for decades.