When life gives you tomatoes, throw them! Spain's La Tomatina turns 80 - in pics

Thousands of people from around the world seeking a uniquely messy thrill spent one wild hour flinging bushels of overripe tomatoes at each other during Spain’s “Tomatina” celebration on Wednesday.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the tomato tossing that party lore says began in 1945 for local children. Since then, “Tomatina” has grown to an eye-catching event that now draws a significant international crowd and has only been skipped twice due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The mother of all food fights painted a packed central street in the eastern town of Buñol deep red as revelers squished, smashed and hurled 120 tons of the overripe fruit. Tarps covered building fronts as an estimated 20,000 people let loose amid screams and laughter.

Buñol, with a population of around 10,000, was one of the towns affected by devastating floods in eastern Spain beginning Oct. 29, 2024. That is why this year’s slogan is “Tomaterapia,” or “Tomato Therapy” in English.

The hour-long event brings 120 tonnes of overripe tomatoes to the eastern town of Bunol, where a crowd of up to 22,000 participants await their ammo. Non-local attendees pay 15 euros (USD 17.50) for a ticket and arrive from countries across the globe or cities a bus ride away. Televised media attention in the 1980s drew an international crowd. In 2002, Spain officially recognized the festival as an international tourism attraction.

Organizers wearing green shirts slowly opened a path for trucks loaded with the tomatoes to bring in the ammunition. Every article of clothing and pretty much every inch of bare skin and hair ends up covered in a pulpy mush, with many wearing white shirts that quickly are stained pink. Thumping music gives the event the vibe of a rave.

Amid the collective abandon, a left-wing political party backed an initiative by local residents to fly Palestinian flags and a banner against Israel's military campaign in Gaza during this year’s “Tomatina.”

The only guideline during the free-for-all is to squash each tomato before throwing to reduce its impact (and of course, refrain from hurling anything else). Even so, some participants opt to wear protective goggles and earplugs.

For those worried about the waste, organizers say the tomatoes are grown specifically for the “Tomatina” and are not edible anyway. Organizers say that the tomatoes used in the party don’t meet the quality control standards for human consumption. They say if they were not used in the “Tomatina,” they would be thrown away.

A cannon shot told participants the battle was over. As their adrenaline drained, revelers used communal showers to clean up while workers hosed the crimson slurry off the streets. Though the stains on clothes are likely irreversible, the citric acid in the tomatoes acts as an effective cleaning agent on the pavement. Three to four hours later, the streets are sometimes left cleaner than before.