Every night of the festival at 11:00pm a crowd gathers in the central park to view the spectacular fireworks over La Vuelta del Castillo near the center of Pamplona. These pyrotechnic displays are not to miss and are among the most widely attended events of the festival. For centuries “los fuegos artificiales” have been an important part of the San Fermin festival.

The fireworks displays are another of the big attractions of the San Fermín fiesta. Childrens and grown-ups alike, every night from the 6th to the 14th of July, crowd around the Ciudadela to see the spectacle of colors that lights up the night sky of Pamplona.

The fireworks displays are also a contest: a panel of experts awards a prize to the company putting on the best show. The Diario de Navarra will be running a ‘people’s prize’ open to voting by all readers. This encourages fireworks companies to bring out their best show - and results in some stunning displays.

Where to see the fireworks

The best viewing points for the fireworks are near the Ciudadela, where the rockets are fired from. The lawn area surrounding this landmark building is called the Vuelta del Castillo, and stretches from the Avenida del Ejército to the Plaza de los Fueros, surrounding the Ciudadela and abutting the Iturrama neighbourhood.

You can sit in the grass while eating or drinking something while you watch, just like the groups of young people in preparation for their night out. It’s what most people do. The City Hall fences off the areas where no one is allowed to sit because there is a risk of being hit by firework debris.

Other good places to see the fireworks are the Paseo de Sarasate and the bus station, though you’ll miss the lowest-flying fireworks and the cascades of light that sometimes slide down the citadel walls.

History

Rockets fired off from the Plaza del Castillo were the traditional way of marking the start of the San Fermín fiesta. Fuegos japoneses and strings of fireworks follow. After the rockets exploded, children would squabble over the tin whistles and sweets that fell out of them. In 1941, the chupinazo was instituted as the official start of the fiesta, but fireworks remained important.

More recently, firework displays have spread to various points of the city: Taconera, Barracas, Paseo de Sarasate, Baluarte del Labrit. They started to be launched from their present site, the Ciudadela, in 1977, funded by the City Council of Pamlona.