La Tomatina Festival Makes The Streets Of Spain Red… From Tomatoes

A few days ago, I was sitting in the room with the older girl, after dinner and before bed. As is our holy habit, we read together a book she borrowed from the school library, trying, as usual, to read 90% of the book on the last day, because that’s how it is with children and library books. It was a tedious book, covering facts about several European countries, including population, cuisine, customs, and other aspects. The book, however, did include at least a few interesting points and illustrations of a familiar Disney fairy tale in between.

When we arrived in Spain, we allowed ourselves to discuss some of their unique customs. Then, under “Holidays and Celebrations” came a few lines of explanation about La Tomatina, Spain’s famous tomato festival whose hallmark is a giant tomato fight.

As soon as I read the description of this festival, I was transported to another world. The first image that came to my mind, while my daughter was probably calling me “Dad? Are you here?”, was of classic horror movies. We all grew up on the myth that movie creators used ketchup to simulate blood in movies, usually in combination with other ingredients. So, a situation where red covers entire streets, and tens of thousands of people are covered from head to toe in a dark red liquid, screaming and yelling, sounded to the imaginative horror fan as if it came out of some zombie war. However, this is not a movie, but rather the strange reality of the Tomato War in Spain, an event that has been ongoing for decades without anyone fully understanding its origins.

So while I got lost in thought and my daughter was waiting for me to continue reading the damn paragraph with her, she threw some tomatoes on my head. “Do you want me to find you more information about this strange festival on the Internet?” I asked the girl in an attempt to appease her. Happily, she agreed, and I left.

You are invited to read the review with the fascinating La Tomatina facts as part of our series of articles on spooky dates on our calendar.

What Is La Tomatina?

The Tomatina festival (La Tomatina) is held annually in the small town of Buñol, located in the Spanish autonomous community of Valencia, which is situated in the east of the country and is primarily associated with oranges. The festival takes place on the last Wednesday of August, so the specific dates when La Tomatina is celebrated may vary from year to year. The La Tomatina date in 2025 was August 27. In 2026, we will celebrate it on August 26, and in 2027, on August 25.

The bizarre festival features several events, the highlight of which, without a doubt, is a massive tomato fight considered the largest food fight in the world. It starts with… a pig. The people of Buñol hang a piece of pork on a pole, covered in grease, in the center of the town. The young people compete to climb to the top of the pole, aiming to take the pork down, while they climb on top of each other in a mass scramble. At the same time, the town residents celebrate, dance in circles, and encourage the participants. The moment someone manages to meet the challenge of reaching the pig (and this can take over an hour), the tomato fight is declared to have begun, which is bombastic and redder than you can imagine.

The fight begins with a cannon shot and lasts for about an hour. It isn’t easy to specify precisely how many tomatoes are used in La Tomatina. Still, the fact remains that the “weapons” are supplied by dozens of trucks, each carrying over 100 tons of tomatoes.

From there, the madness begins, with participants throwing tomatoes or even pouring entire buckets of tomato liquid on others. After an hour on the clock, a cannon shot signifies the end of the fight. The participants clean their wounds (or the tomato that represents them) and begin an even more complex task: cleaning up all the chaos they caused on the streets. Fire trucks come and wash the streets, residents use hoses to remove the “blood” from their bodies, and others even go to a local pool to take a dip. The cleaning process is also enhanced by the citric acid in tomatoes, making it more effective. According to reports, the streets of the town are cleaner than ever just a few hours after the festival.

Note that the festival lasts for several days, with the tomato fight taking place on its last day. During the festival, other activities, fortunately a little more subdued, take place, such as parades, musical performances, dancing, fireworks, a cooking competition (with an emphasis on the traditional local dish, paella), and more.

Why Is La Tomatina Celebrated?

According to popular belief, the first Tomatina festival took place in Spain in 1945. There are several versions of the origin. Some claim that it all started with a small food fight, which began when some young people took part in the parade of giants and big heads that year. The celebrations caused one of the participants’ “head” to fall off, and he went into a frenzy during which he hit everything that moved. One of the primary victims was a vegetable stand, and his fall caused the excited crowd to start throwing tomatoes at each other, as well as other available vegetables.

According to the legend, the following year, some young people arrived already equipped with tomatoes, having arranged a fight in advance. The local police began to stop the fight, but not the tradition that started a year later and continues to this day.

In the 1950s, the terrible dictator Francisco Franco decided to ban the festival, since the holiday had no religious elements. Some residents held the festival despite the ban and got arrested. However, local protests led to the festival’s revival. After that, the celebrations stopped again until 1957, when the residents decided to defy the government and hold an official “funeral“ for the tomatoes. At the peak of the event, as the residents carried a coffin adorned with a large tomato, a band played mournful music. The protest was successful because the festival has since been approved and has become an official event.

The Tourists Discover La Tomatina

Since the 1950s, the Valencia Tomato Festival has been held almost every year, except for a few instances, such as the COVID-19 crisis, which caused the cancellation of the celebration in 2020 and 2021. Thanks to reports that have appeared in local and international media over the years, it has garnered immense interest. The popularity increased in 2002, when the Spanish Minister of Tourism declared the event a global tourist attraction.

Today, the Spanish Tomato Fight draws crowds of tourists who come to witness the authentic experience and, of course, to participate actively. Note that, since 2013, for obvious security reasons, they have limited the number of participants in the celebration and charge a fee for it. Since that year, the maximum number of participants in the Tomato Festival has been 20,000, with the explicit aim of not significantly exceeding the local population, which is approximately 9,000 residents.

Unsurprisingly, Buñol’s unusual tradition has drawn considerable criticism over the years. The first and quite understandable argument is along the lines of “but there are hungry people in Africa“ ​​- that is, that commercial quantities of food are thrown into the trash (or onto people) that could otherwise, perhaps, reach populations that really need it.

The Rules Of The Tomato Fight Festival In Spain

On the surface, a tomato-throwing festival sounds like a completely disorganized event, complete chaos with no rules. However, over the years, and probably following experiences that happened in practice, they’ve decided on a few rules that those who participate in the festival must abide by:

🍅You can’t throw anything but tomatoes

🍅 You can’t tear clothes. Most participants, of course, come wearing worn-out clothes or clothes that will be thrown away after the event, because who wants to wash all this mess

🍅 It is essential to crush the tomatoes a little before throwing them, so that no physical harm is caused to others

🍅 Only throw tomatoes at targets (people) that you can see

🍅 It is forbidden to throw tomatoes directly at buildings

🍅 Keep your distance from trucks

🍅 Did the gunshot that ends the event sound? At this very moment, you must leave the tomatoes

How Can You Visit La Tomatina?

If you are in eastern Spain, particularly in the Valencia region, at the end of August, you can definitely join the festival. The town of Buñol is not far from Valencia, so if you are planning a vacation in the area, it is worthwhile to consider combining a night or two in Buñol or Valencia around the date of the Tomatina.

Still, it is worth expecting that the festival period will cause very high demand. Hotel prices are rising, and the recommended hotels may be fully booked a few months in advance. Therefore, if you decide to visit here, it is very worthwhile to book a hotel in advance. You can look for a place in the town itself or stay in Valencia and come there for a day.

It is convenient to come for just one day, especially for the festival, independently or as part of a private tour. We found a great day trip on Get Your Guide, which is very popular among tourists worldwide. This trip, which lasts almost a full day (10-12 hours), includes everything that someone in Valencia who wants to experience the festival to the fullest could hope for: round-trip transportation from Valencia, entry to the Tomato Festival, and various experiences before or after the Tomato Fight. Among other things, a visit to the pre-game area that includes music and a bar, a paella plate, a drink of your choice (beer or sangria), a live performance, an after-party, and even street showers to clean the body after the fight, which are located right in front of the experience area. This trip isn’t cheap, but it can save you a lot of time, headaches, and help you discover the many facets of this joyful and special festival.

Here you can find more details and book a day trip to the 2026 Spanish tomato fight:

Another option for participating in the tomato-throwing festivities, which we found on Viator, is a two-day trip to Buñol. The trip also departs from Valencia and includes accommodation at a campsite (a double tent with a mattress, sleeping bag, lights, and earplugs), a hot breakfast, transportation to and from the tomato fight, beach games, unlimited beer and sangria, a cheese and wine dinner, and of course, tickets to the festival. For an additional fee, you can also participate in water and wine fights, attend the after-party (including transportation), and even get to wear traditional local clothing.

On the festival’s official website, you can find information on transportation options from various destinations in Spain, including Valencia, Madrid, Barcelona, and the Costa Brava. The ticket includes pickup from or near your hotel, a return trip at the end of the event, an entrance ticket to the Tomatina festival, travel insurance, a festival T-shirt, and more. For an additional fee, you can also order Valencian paella or sangria.

The main disadvantage is that the experience here may be less complete than at the attraction sites, and that booking this way is much less flexible. At the attraction sites, you can usually cancel your reservation free of charge up to 24 hours before the scheduled time. However, the conditions on the official website may be more complex. In the current reality of widespread flight cancellations, this issue can be particularly significant.

Tomato Fights Spread Across The Globe

The famous tomato fight in Spain did not stay within the country’s borders. It has become a global trend, with several diverse local versions. In Colorado, for example, the “Tomato War” has been ongoing against Texas since the 1980s, including an attempt to capture a straw model of the Alamo in San Antonio (spoiler: the Coloradans usually win).

In Colombia, Costa Rica, and even China, villages and towns have found a way to turn surplus tomatoes into a red celebration, with tons of the squashed vegetables flying in all directions for several hours. But not everywhere has the idea got positive vibes. In India, for example, the government has rejected attempts to organize a Tomatina-like festival in Bangalore and Delhi, claiming that it would be a waste of food.

And by the way, there are other strange food fights around the world. In the small Italian town of Ivrea, located north of Milan, an orange fight is held annually between thousands of participants divided into approximately 10 teams, each with its own uniform and emblem. The Ivrea Carnival actually started as a protest against an unpopular ruler, which involved throwing stones at his house. Fortunately, this tradition was adapted over the years to use oranges, mainly from the island of Sicily.

In some of the fights, you’re likely to get pretty wet – and we’re not talking just about water fights (like the Songkran festival in Thailand, one of whose hallmarks is giant water fights). A rather unusual example is the Haro Wine Festival in northern Spain, which takes place every year on June 29 and culminates, as you might guess, in a wine fight. The many residents and tourists who come here often use bottles, water guns, and even boots and other items that one might not think are intended to be used as containers for collecting and throwing wine ammunition.

Tomatina In The World Of Culture

Over the years, the Spanish tomatina has made its way onto movie screens, television, and even video games. Apparently, from Bollywood to Disney, it’s hard to resist the charm (and mess) of a sea of ​​squashed tomatoes.

Paint It Red Clip From Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara

The critically acclaimed Indian film “Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara” (“You Only Live Once”) available on Netflix, is about three friends who go on a bachelorette trip to Spain and go through various experiences that help them get to know themselves, examine their friendships, and a few other things I might have known if I had seen it.

Anyway, during the film, the guys visit the Tomato Festival, and we get a clip of around five minutes, featuring spectacular shots set to cool Indian music. This section is actually a song called Ik Junoon (“Paint It Red”) by Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy. This Indian trio has contributed its soundtrack to more than 50 films in several languages.

We Need To Talk About Kevin Tomato Scene

Lynne Ramsay’s 2011 film “We Need to Talk About Kevin,” based on a book by Lionel Shriver, is a compelling film, like a punch in the gut – one of the scariest films that doesn’t belong to the (supposedly) horror genre that I’ve ever seen. This tragic story revolves around parents (Tilda Swinton and John C. Reilly) who struggle with a very problematic child named Kevin, whom the mother finds deeply disturbing.

The color red, in general, and blood, in particular, are dominant motifs in the film, hinting at the terrible violence seen in the final part, which may be related to Kevin’s fondness for the story of Robin Hood and the weapons he used.

The film opens with a scene in which we see the mother at the tomato festival, featuring artistic shots that demonstrate exactly why this setting is visually suited for a horror film, where it is easy to replace the tomatoes with blood.

Heads of State Tomato Scene

From there, we move on to an opposite film: “Heads of State”, a featherweight American action film that deals with two completely different heads of state. The wrestler, actor, and rapper John Cena is the Prime Minister of England and a former action movie star, while Idris Elba plays the square and outdated President of the United States. They travel together to a NATO conference as a media stunt, trying to hide their rivalry. Still, they quickly collaborate in the fight for survival, alongside an excellent MI6 agent (Indian Priyanka Chopra, who was Miss World and has become a not-so-bad actress).

In a way that is perhaps a bit reminiscent of the opening scene of “Spectre“ from the James Bond series during the Mexican Day of the Dead (whose creepy aspects we have already written about), the opening scene of “Heads of State“ presents the agent and her team’s pursuit of a Russian guy. The quest takes place during the Tomatina festival, where the blood quickly mixes with the tomatoes.

From Mickey Mouse To Tekken: Other Cultural Tomatoes

These are, of course, not the only examples. We saw the festival in the 2014 British musical comedy “Walking on Sunshine,“ which combines hits from the 80s, or in the Indian comedy called “Spanish Masala,” with a pretty creepy story about a guy who works in a restaurant and tries to get close to his boss’s blind daughter by imitating the voice of her ex-partner, who was murdered by her father (or something like that. I don’t watch many Indian comedies).

Mickey Mouse rolled into battle in an episode of the 2013 “Mickey Mouse“ revival, which spanned five seasons and featured numerous adventures of Mickey and his gang in various destinations around the world. In the game “Tekken 6,” another example, you can fight in an arena that is very reminiscent of the busy streets of Buñol during the festival, because what gets you into the battle atmosphere more than seeing people around you throwing tomatoes and covered in red?