Spain's Tomato Festival 'Tomatina' Returns After Two Years

 

The annual “Tomatina" food fight has returned to Spain after two years. Thousands of people splattered each other with tomatoes on Wednesday in the Spanish town of Bunol, celebrating the return of the Tomato festival.

A convoy of six trucks carrying 130 tonnes of ripe tomatoes rolled through the narrow streets of the eastern town. During this festival, participants fling tons of ripe tomatoes at one another. People celebrated this festival after a lapse of two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic. People from all over the world took part in the tomato battle.

Tourists came from Australia, Britain, Japan and the United States to celebrate the festival. Participants wore swim goggles to protect their eyes. Patricio, a tourist from Mexico, reportedly said, “We have come to the ‘Tomatina’ because it’s the craziest thing we have seen here.”

In 2020, the festival was stopped because of Covid-19. Local people also stopped celebrating the iconic festival.

This year, only 15,000 of the 20,000 available tickets were sold because fewer people from Asian countries made the trip due to lingering Covid-19 travel restrictions. The local authorities already predicted fewer international tourists because of Covid-19.

'Tomatina' festival

The “Tomatina" started in 1945 when locals grabbed tomatoes from a grocer’s stall and started throwing them at each other. The festival took inspiration from a food fight between neighbourhood children in 1945 in the town.

As a result of the extensive media coverage in the 1980s, it developed into a significant national festival. In 2002, Spain’s tourism secretary named the event a “festivity of international tourist interest" because of its popularity across the world. The event attracted a lot of people worldwide.

The festival is usually celebrated on the final Wednesday of August. The festival has inspired similar celebrations in Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile and the United States.