Spain cancels bull-running festival for second year in row

April 26, 2021 18:34

The mayor of the Spanish city of Pamplona on Monday cancelled the San Fermin festival, which draws thrill-seekers from all over the world to run with fighting bulls through its streets, for a second year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

"To my very despair, I'm forced to officially suspend the festival of San Fermin in 2021," mayor Enrique Maya told reporters on Monday.

He cited the high COVID-19 contagion in the Navarra region and the low vaccination ratio.

The San Fermin festival gained international fame from Ernest Hemingway's 1926 novel "The Sun Also Rises".

Last year's cancellation was the first in over four decades and was a big financial blow to Pamplona's bars, restaurants and hotels.

The last time it did not celebrate the festival two years in a row was during the 1936-39 Spanish Civil War.

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