MADRID, July 6 (Xinhua) -- The annual San Fermin festival, well-known for its bull runs and bullfighters, kicked off in Spain's northern town of Pamplona on Thursday.
The festival started at midday local time with the firing of a rocket into the sky from the Pamplona town hall in front of a packed main square.
The population of the city in the north of Navarra Province sharply rose from its usual 250,000 inhabitants to around a million for the week-long festival, which this year will be followed by 400 journalists from 130 media outlets from all over the world.
San Fermin was made famous by late writer Ernest Hemingway in his novel "Fiesta-The Sun Also Rises" in the 1920's in which Hemingway depicted the excitement of the traditional bull runs through the early morning streets, alongside those brave or foolish enough to show their courage against the bulls, which usually weigh around 600 kilograms each.
However, San Fermin is much more than bulls. The 2017 edition sees 425 official acts programmed for its eight-day festivities, including music, theater, puppet shows, fireworks and sporting events.
Although the municipal government spent around 2 million euros (2.26 million U.S. dollars) for the festival, the economic impact is expected to be around 150 million euros (170 million U.S. dollars), over 30 million of which will be spent in the city's bars and restaurants.
The 2017 San Fermines will also witness heavy security measures, with 3,500 members of local and regional police forces on duty along with members of the National Police and Civil Guards.
Several helicopters will also be operational with police, while concrete blocks and barriers have also been placed in areas expecting massive revelers in order to prevent any possible terrorist attacks using vehicles.
There are also 10 first aid stations set up in the city with 70 health workers on duty and 16 ambulances on standby.
This year's festival features a concerted campaign called, "Pamplona Free of Sexual Aggression" in order to stop the sexual assaults which have blighted the celebrations in recent years. The streets are filled with a red hand symbol signifying the rejection of such behavior.
