Thousands of individuals flocked to Buñol on Wednesday to partake in the yearly La Tomatina food battle, transforming the quaint Spanish town into a sea of red using around 165 tonnes of ripe tomatoes. The chaotic event lasted for over an hour in the town near València, with structures shielded by tarps in anticipation of the revelry.
A man is seen covering a residence with a tarp to shield it from airborne tomatoes before the festival, which dates back to a food skirmish in 1945. This year, over 20,000 participants are anticipated, as per the Spanish EFE news agency, noting that 40% of attendees in the last three years were international tourists.
Non-local visitors purchase a 15 euro ticket to join the festivities. The cardinal rule is to squish the tomatoes before throwing them to prevent injuries. Nevertheless, many attendees opt for protective gear like swimming goggles and earplugs.
Images captured during the event show people engaged in tomato warfare on the streets, with some on trucks hurling tomatoes at others below. The vibrant scenes include individuals in goggles sitting amidst the tomato-covered streets or revelers submerged in pools of tomatoes.