La Tomatina

What it is

Once a year the streets of Buñol, a town inland from Valencia in eastern Spain, become the setting for a mass tomato fight. It is the largest of its kind anywhere, and it now draws crowds far beyond what the town can hold. Participants stand close together and throw tomatoes until the hour is up, then the square is left deep in pulp. The event has grown from a local scrap into something outsiders travel for, and it has been copied in several other countries. Scenes from it have been restaged in films, in a Bollywood song, and as a stage in a video game.

Origins and history

The usual account is that the first fight was an accident. In 1945 young people were in the town square for a parade of giant figures and big-heads. One big-head came off its wearer, who flew into a rage and started hitting out. A vegetable stall was caught in the chaos and tomatoes began to fly until the authorities broke it up. The next year some of them planned a quarrel beforehand and brought tomatoes from home, and a yearly custom grew from that. Bans and arrests followed in the early 1950s; a tomato funeral in 1957, with a coffin, a band and funeral marches, helped win the festival official standing.

How the day runs

Several days ahead of the fight, Buñol fills with music, parades through the medieval centre, a paella contest near the square, and small fireworks known as tomato fireworks. On the Wednesday morning comes the Palo Jabón: a long pole greased so it cannot be gripped, with a piece of ham balanced on top. People climb on one another to reach it while others sing and dance in circles around them, and hoses soak everyone. When the ham finally drops, the tomato battle starts. It lasts about an hour. Fire trucks then wash the streets, residents lend out their hoses, and some people go to the Los Peñones pool to rinse off. The 2015 edition is reckoned to have used close to 145,000 kilograms of tomatoes.

Tickets and safety rules

For decades nobody needed a ticket. That changed in 2013, when places began to be sold in advance and numbers were capped: 20,000 people, against a town of roughly 9,000 residents. The council also issues a short list of instructions. Only tomatoes may be thrown. Fruit is squashed before it is thrown, to reduce the sting. Participants keep clear of trucks, stop at the second starter pistol, obey the security staff, aim only at people in view, and leave buildings alone. Fame brought its own changes: the festival was named a Fiesta of International Tourist Interest in 2002, the 2020 and 2021 editions were called off because of the pandemic, and the eightieth staging on 27 August 2025 drew a crowd of more than 22,000.

Around the world

Other places have set up their own tomato fights on the Buñol model. Twin Lakes in Colorado has run a Colorado-Texas Tomato War since 1982, complete with a straw Alamo that Coloradans try to storm. Sutamarchán in Colombia began one in 2004, held on 15 June when tomato harvests leave a surplus. Costa Rica's San José de Trojas stages a version during its local tomato fair, and Dongguan in southern China throws up to 15 tonnes of fruit on 19 October. Reno, Nevada, has held an hour-long fight since 2009, organised by the American Cancer Society on what appears to be the last Sunday of August. Not every plan has been welcomed: Karnataka's government blocked events in Bangalore and Mysore, and a Delhi proposal was dropped.

How La Tomatina is kept

Days beforehand, the town holds parades, music, a paella contest and tomato fireworks. On the Wednesday morning, crowds gather for the Palo Jabón: a greased pole topped with ham that must be knocked down by climbers standing on each other, with singing, dancing and hosepipes around them. The ham falls, a signal starts the fight, and for about an hour everyone throws squashed tomatoes. When it ends, fire trucks and borrowed hoses clean the streets and the people, some of whom head to a local pool.

When and where

La Tomatina is held once a year, on the last Wednesday of August, which places it in late summer. The fight itself begins in the late morning, after the greased-pole contest, and runs for roughly one hour. The days before it are given over to music, parades and food.

The festival belongs to Buñol, a small town in the Valencia region of Spain, inland from the coast, and its square is where the throwing happens. Buñol remains the home of the event and the model others copy. Versions have since been started in Colorado, Colombia, Costa Rica, China and Nevada, while official objections stopped plans in parts of India.

What La Tomatina means

La Tomatina carries no religious meaning: sources note it was banned in the early 1950s precisely because it had none. What it marks instead is belonging. When a further ban came, townspeople paraded a coffin holding one large tomato, with a band playing funeral marches, as a sign of defiance. That gesture worked, and the festival became official. The tomato funeral is remembered as the moment Buñol showed how much the day mattered to it.

La Tomatina dates: 2026, 2027, 2028

Questions people ask about La Tomatina

See also

HalloweenAn annual observance on 31 October marking the eve of All Saints' Day, rooted in Christian tradition and Celtic heritageBasque festivalGatherings of dance, sport and food that keep Basque culture alive far from homeRunning of the bullsRunners sprint ahead of loose bulls through barricaded town streets in summerFestival of San FermínAn annual nine-day festival in Pamplona featuring bull runs, parades, and street music.

Good reading and sources

• Photos from La Tomatina, the World's Biggest Food FightSmithsonian Magazine, Article
• Photos from La Tomatina, the World's Biggest Food FightSmithsonian Magazine, Article

• La Tomatina on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-05.