Suspended the San Fermin festival 2020 in Pamplona

USPA NEWS - The City Council of Pamplona has officially announced this noon the suspension of the San Fermin festival in July 2020. It has taken this decision bearing in mind that the fight against COVID-19 has become a global priority and that there is no other option for such a massive and international festival as the Sanfermines.

Regarding the celebration of the Sanfermines on a different date in 2020, at the press conference it was indicated that “the current situation does not allow us to anticipate what will happen in a few months, although it seems complicated that they can be held this year,“ said the acting mayor Ana Elizalde, to replace the mayor, Enrique Maya, convalescent of COVID-19. Elizalde said that “no matter how much expected it was, it does not stop us all feeling sad.“ Although there are still two and a half months until July 6, the acting mayor noted that “it seems evident, and I think that is the feeling of public opinion, that our beloved festivals are very close to the Coronavirus.“

The City Council of Pamplona has made this decision in consensus with all the municipal groups, bearing in mind that the fight against COVID-19 has become a world priority and that there is no other option for festivals as a massive and international as the Sanfermines. In this way, the Sanfermines in Pamplona join events of such worldwide importance as the Tokyo Olympic Games, the European Championship and the Tour de France or national festivals such as the Fallas or the April Fair, in Valencia and Seville respectively, that have been postponed or suspended several months before of their celebration.

Because the Sanfermines is news of national and international scope since they attract tens of thousands of tourists from all over Spain and from different countries, the City Council of Pamplona has prepared a communication campaign with videos in Spanish, Basque, French and English. With this initiative he wants “to pay a small tribute to the festivities and transfer that, when everything happens, when possible, we will experience them.“ It is precisely the motto of the video: 'As soon as we can... #We will live #Sanfermines'.

Part of the Sanfermines budget against Coronavirus

At the press conference it was also reported that a large part of this year's budget for San Fermin should be used for expenses derived from the actions carried out by the City Council to try to alleviate the consequences of the health crisis caused by COVID-19. For example, requests for social emergency aid and the demand for the municipal canteen have multiplied, and due to the saturation of the Homeless Assistence Center, other accommodation resources have been enabled in the hostels of Jesús y María and Casa Paderborn, in the old convent of Maria Auxiliadora and in some pensions.

On the performance of the Sanfermines on other dates in 2020, the acting mayor has indicated that the current situation does not allow to know it since “we are in an unpredictable scenario and to guess or anticipate what will happen in five months would be an exercise of irresponsability. Today, it seems complicated that the Sanfermines can be held this year, but we will wait to see how events evolve.“

This is the fifth time that the festivals in the history of the Sanfermines have been suspended, after those of 1937 and 1938, due to the Spanish civil war; in 1978, when the Police intervened to remove a banner in favor of the prisoners of the terrorist organization ETA, with more than 150 wounded and a student killed in the riots; and in 1997 after the muder of the conservative councilor of the City Council of Ermua, in the basque province of Bizcaia, Miguel Angel Blanco.