PAMPLONA, Spain: A red-and-white ocean of revelers erupted in cheers to launch Spain’s annual San Fermin bull-running festival yesterday but only after a 19-minute delay caused by a giant Basque flag that blocked the starting rocket.
The nine-day event of sharp-horned fighting bulls is supposed to start at noon each year with a traditional shout of “Viva San Fermin!” and the launch of a firecracker known as the “chupinazo.”
But just 10 minutes before the firework was to be set off from the city hall in a central square of the northern city of Pamplona, a massive Basque flag was hoisted in front of the building.
City officials struggled for 19 minutes to remove the flag, strung up between buildings on either side of the Plaza Consistorial square, before the firecracker could be set off.
