At 12.00 a.m., from the second floor balcony of the Casa Consistorial, Uxue Barcos has lighted the wick rocket among the cheering ¡Pamploneses, pamplonesas, viva San Fermin! ¡Irunitarro, gora San Fermín! In this way, the spokesperson for Nai Bai has invited the thousands of peolple in the City Hall Square to enjoy 204 hours of uninterrupted festival.

In spite of the forecast, the weather has accompanied this Sunday morning, accentuating, even more, the will of festival of thousands of people who have moved to the Town Hall Square to celebrate the beginning of the Sanfermines. As every year, minutes before the launch of chupinazo a tide of red handkerchiefs have been lifted over the heads of people eager to be knotted at the neck with the outbreak of the rocket.

With this outbreak, the sound of thousands of uncorking champagne bottles and chants of welcome to the party has joined. With the launch of the rest of the rockets, the Sanfermines 2008 are begining.

Each year a councillor of a different political group following an order that goes from the most rated to the least in the last elections, is the responsible for launching the chupinazo. Although this is the rule followed from just over 30 years, some Navarre sports figures have enjoyed this privilege too: the captain of Osasuna, Cesar Palacios, or the president's handball team Portland San Antonio, Fermin Tajadura.