San Fermín 2026 is set to begin in Pamplona with expanded live coverage. RTVE confirms that all eight morning bull runs will air from July 7 to 14. The daily encierros start at 8:00 a.m. and will be broadcast on La 1, the 24 Horas channel, RTVE Play and RNE. RTVE is also introducing a multicamera streaming option, with ten simultaneous feeds: nine at strategic points along the route and the basic broadcast signal.
The festivities run from July 6 through July 14, opening at noon on July 6 with the traditional Chupinazo, launched from Pamplona City Hall. The encierros follow on eight consecutive mornings, from July 7 to 14. Visit Navarra describes the course as 875 metres long. It begins at the corrals on the Cuesta de Santo Domingo and crosses the historic centre, including the iconic Estafeta, before reaching the Plaza de Toros. The tourism authority says hundreds of runners take part, while millions of television viewers follow the event.
Concerts and parades fill the streets, along with the comparsa of giants and big-heads, but the morning bull runs remain basic to San Fermín. The scheduled runs feature bulls from Fuente Ymbro, Cebada Gago, Victoriano del Río and Toros de Cortés, Álvaro Núñez, José Escolar, La Palmosilla and Miura, as well as a joint run by Jandilla and Vega Hermosa. Each group runs from Santo Domingo to the bullring, passing Estafeta. Participation is voluntary: a 1983 El País report quoted a notice from Pamplona’s mayor stating that “no one is obliged to run” and that those who enter take on the risk freely.
RTVE’s special programming starts each morning at 7:15 with “Vive San Fermín” on La 1, hosted by Ana Prada and Julian Iantzi. Egoitz Txurruka and expert runner Teo Lázaro join the team this year. RTVE Play will offer a dedicated San Fermín portal and the thematic channel RTVE Sanfermines, scheduled to stream around the clock from July 6 to 15. Registered users can access historical material, including encierros dating back to 2008, while RTVE.es will carry minute-by-minute updates.
Each afternoon, the Plaza de Toros hosts the Fiesta del Toro, where the same bulls that ran in the morning appear in bullfights with matadors including Alejandro Talavante, Roca Rey, Morante de la Puebla, Borja Jiménez, Juan Ortega and Tomás Rufo. The city expects thousands of local and international visitors, drawn by the distinctive sight of white clothing and red scarves. Immortalized by Ernest Hemingway, San Fermín continues to attract international attention, with millions watching its bull runs on television.
For those interested in how major Spanish events are covered on television, recent changes to sports broadcasting schedules, including the Mexico-England World Cup match, highlight the growing importance of live and flexible coverage for national audiences. More details on this trend appear in the report on recent changes to World Cup match timings.
Rooted in the culture of Navarra and Pamplona, San Fermín combines a long-standing civic celebration with a high-profile televised event. The encierros bring runners and bulls onto a fixed urban course through the city, creating a logistical challenge for organizers and emergency services. San Fermín pairs tradition and spectacle with modern media technology, making it a fixture of the Spanish summer calendar for experienced festival-goers and new audiences alike.
