La Tomatina, World’s Biggest Food Fight Took Place Yesterday In Spain!

Yesterday approximately 20,000 people and over 125 tons of Tomatoes were used to create one epic food fight.

Every year during the last Wednesday of August, the world’s biggest food fight takes place in Bunol, Valencia, Spain. La Tomatina is essentially full-fledged tomato warfare that all that started in 1945 over a feud among friends that got into a conflict & resulted in them going to a nearby vegetable stand and throwing tomatoes at each other. The scene was so memorable at the time, that the next year on the same Wednesday of the festival week, a different group of men brought tomatoes from home and started their own food fight. In the beginning of the 50’s the local authorities banned La Tomatina, because of the high number of arrests they had to make every year, and the carnage of having a bunch of tomatoes residue all over the streets. However with the aristocrats showing resistance, it became even more popular to the youth and started to gain traction with all the residents of Bunol. One year after so many young kids were arrested for the tomato mayhem, Bunol residents forced the police to release them!! After years of back & forth, the tomato fighting tradition became an official city festival in 1957, and later on in 1980 the town hall decided to fund the tomatoes so that participants didn’t have to acquire their own, making it grow even more in popularity. It has gotten to the point now where people interested in participating have to pay an entry fee & set a number of maximum people that can participate to keep the event safe. Local residents prepare for the impending food fight by protecting their storefronts and homes with plastic & wearing special clothing. Thousands of pounds of tomatoes are trucked into town and dropped off at Buñol’s main square, and then the battle commences. This community-sanctioned tomato bath leaves both the people and the streets covered with pulp, seeds, and good old-fashioned tomato juice. After the cleanup, people continue to enjoy the festival’s fireworks, parades, food, and music. So if you’re ever in Valencia, Spain make sure to stop by Bunol & be a part of the World’s biggest food fight!!