La Tomatina

festival · Spain · food fight · world record

Tomato explosion. La Tomatina is held every August in the small Spanish town of Buñol, where over 100 tons of tomatoes are dropped into the streets for people to throw at each other. The festival lasts about an hour and turns the entire town red with tomato juice.

Started small. What began in the 1940s as a playful food fight between friends has grown into one of the most famous festivals in the world. Now thousands of tourists visit Buñol just to participate in this messy, joyful celebration.

Getting too crowded. So many people wanted to join that in 2013, La Tomatina became a ticketed event with a limit of 20,000 participants. This was necessary because Buñol is a small town with only about 9,000 residents, and the festival was getting too overwhelming.

World record holder. La Tomatina holds the title for the largest food fight in the world, which is pretty amazing considering it started as just friends having fun. The festival has become so popular that it attracts visitors from every continent.

Total tomato cleanup. After the festival ends, the streets are completely covered in tomato pulp and seeds, so teams work hard to clean everything up. Interestingly, the tomato juice actually helps clean the streets because of its natural acidity.