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Thousands of revellers from across the globe descended on a village in Spain for the world’s biggest annual food fight.
The streets of the eastern town of Bunol were turned red as huge crowds threw millions of tomatoes at one another.
The annual La Tomatina food fight takes place each year on the last Wednesday in August, inspired by a food fight between local children in 1945 in the town, located in the tomato-producing region.
Interest in the event has been steadily growing after the event was depicted in a 2011 Bollywood film.
Tonnes of tomatoes were unloaded from trucks to the 20,000 people on the ground, who then began hurling them towards one another.
Their white shirts soon turned pink and red while pop songs blasted from speakers.
At one point, police appeared to use pepper spray to disperse an area of the crowd, but a festive vibe quickly resumed.
The messy melee took place for over an hour in the town, where buildings were covered with tarps ahead of the festivities.
A woman rolls around in the red slush during the annual ‘Tomatina’ tomato fight fiesta
Revellers were covered head to toe in tomato juice in the village of Bunol near Valencia, Spain
Interest in the event has been steadily growing after the event was depicted in a 2011 Bollywood film
White shirts were soon turned pink and red while pop songs blasted from speakers
A group throws tomatoes into the crowd from the back of a truck
An aerial view as the streets are turned red from the iant food fight in the village
Revellers are all smiles as they enjoy the fruity chaos surrounding each other
Revellers donned dry bags to protect their belongigs before creating tomato juice angels
A couple share a kiss amongst the madness of the food fight surrounding them
As every year on the last Wednesday of August, thousands of people visit the small village to throw tons of ripe tomatoes at each other
Participants don swimming goggles to protect their eyes, while their clothes, typically T-shirts and shorts, are left covered in pulp
The fight lasts for about an hour before authorities hose off the participants and clean up the streets
Revellers travel from all over the globe to take part in the event
People travel from around the world to take part in the festival alongside roughly 5,000 locals
One reveller takes a face full of tomato pulp at the food fight
A group wade through the tomatoes on the ground in the Spanish village
One reveller bathes in the red sludge on the streets of Bunol
The tomatoes’ citric acid acts as a cleaning agent, often leaving Bunol’s streets cleaner than before.
A man stans up against a door amid the barrage of tomatoes being thrown around him
Participation at the event has been paid and ticketed since 2013 after officials said too many foreign visitors were taking part and overwhelming the streets
Workers unloaded tonnes of over-ripe tomatoes into the streets, which thousands of people used to pelt one another for roughly an hour
One local shelters himself from behind barriers but takes a snap of the food fight outside
A man covered in tomato juice holds one of the region’s fruits in his mouth
Should tourists be allowed to dominate local festivals like La Tomatina, or does it ruin their tradition?
La Tomatina became an annual tradition before Spanish dictator Gen. Francisco Franco banned it in the 1950s. Televised media attention in the 1980s helped turn the festival into a national event, and eventually, an international attraction.
La Tomatina is a beloved celebration in Bunol and in recent years has served as a welcome boost to local government coffers.
Participation at the event has been paid and ticketed since 2013 after officials said too many foreign visitors were taking part and overwhelming the streets.
More than 20,000 people had been expected to take part this year, with the Spanish news agency EFE reporting this week that roughly 40 per cent of participants over the past three years have been tourists from outside Spain.
There has been a notable jump in visitors from India in recent years, following the 2011 Bollywood movie ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’ (‘You Only Live Once’), in which three friends take a road-trip through Spain during an extended bachelor party. The film recreated La Tomatina, introducing the festival to many Indians.
The movie is what first drew Romail Khokhar, a 27-year-old from Mumbai, to Buñol. He was there on Wednesday morning, eager to participate in the food fight for his third time.
Mazhar and Sanya Khan, both 40, were likewise inspired by the film.
‘It was fantastic, absolutely well-managed,’ said Mazhar Khan. ‘We are from India, and this is our first time being in La Tomatina. It has been a dream for over a decade.’
The movie’s appeal isn’t limited to Indians. It also drew Joanna Wytrzyszczewska from Poland.
‘Way more crazy than we expected,’ said Wytrzyszczewska, 32. ‘We came because we were inspired by a movie. It was better than the movie.’
Similar tomato-flinging events have taken place in Florida, London, Amsterdam, the Colombian town of Sutamarchán and Hyderabad, India.
Non-local attendees pay 15 euros ($17.50) for a ticket. The first and only rule: Squash your tomatoes before hurling them to avoid injuries. Still, many participants don swimming goggles and earplugs for protection.
Once the hour was up, the sound of a cannon blast marked the end of festivities and crowds washed off at communal showers nearby. The town’s streets were later hosed down.
Though stains on clothes can be permanent, the tomatoes’ citric acid acts as a cleaning agent, often leaving Buñol’s streets cleaner than before.
