Fêtes de Bayonne and fireworks. Origin: The first "Fêtes de Bayonne" called "The big summer festival" took place on July 13, 1932. It was instigated by a group of friends belonging to the Aviron Bayonnais rugby team. They wanted to create in Bayonne, celebrations similar to those of San Fermin in Pamplona, Spain (famous for their Running of the Bulls). Fêtes de Bayonne The fêtes de Bayonne is a feria consisting in a series of festivals in the Northern Basque Country in the town of Bayonne, France. The festival lasts 5 days and always starts the Wednesday before the first Sunday of August.
Running of the bulls only stand behind the second fence, whereas the space between the two fences is reserved for security and medical personnel and also to participants who need cover during the event. The encierro begins with runners singing a benediction. It is sung three times, each time being sung both in Spanish and Basque. The benediction is a prayer given at a statue of Saint Fermin, patron of the festival and the city, to ask the saint's protection and can be translated into English as "We ask Saint Fermin, as our Patron, to guide us through the encierro and give us his