A million delirious, wine-soaked revellers packed the streets of Pamplona today as Spain's world-famous bull-running festival burst to life, amid concerns that Basque separatist group ETA might spoil the party.
As the "chupinazo" firework, which marks the start of the San Fermin festival, arched into the sky above the city's historic main square, thousands of Spaniards and foreign tourists unleashed a barrage of eggs, flour and champagne.
After 20 hours of non-stop partying, a handful of the bravest, or most reckless, men will risk their lives in a three-minute adrenaline-fuelled dash from six fighting bulls.
Over the last century, 13 runners have been gored fatally or trampled to death, the last a 22-year-old American man in 1995.
While the fiesta normally passes without violence, tensions were high this year after Spain's center-right government initiated a crackdown on armed group ETA and the Batasuna party it brands as its political wing.