La Tomatina : the biggest tomato flight

La Tomatina is a food fight festival held on the last Wednesday of August each year in the town of Buñol near to Valencia (Spain). Thousands of people make their way from all corners of the world to fight in this ‘World’s Biggest Food Fight’ where more than one hundred tons of over-ripe tomatoes are thrown in the streets.

The week-long festival features music, parades, dancing, and fireworks. On the night before the tomato fight, participants compete in a paella cooking contest.

Due to numbers increasing each year, in 2013 the Town Hall of Buñol limited the number of people who can participate in Tomatina and added a €10 ticket tax. 

Make sure that you have a ticket or you will not get into the tomato fight. 

There is limited accommodation for people who come to La Tomatina, so many people take the easier option of staying in nearby Valencia just 38km to Buñol by bus or train. In preparation for the dirty mess that will ensue, shopkeepers use huge plastic covers on their store fronts to protect them from the mess.

At around 11 am, the first event of the Tomatina begins. Many trucks haul the bounty of tomatoes into the center of the town. The signal for the beginning of the fight is firing of water cannons, and the chaos begins. Once it begins, the battle is generally every man for himself.

After exactly one hour, the fighting ends when the water cannons are fired once more to signal the end. At this point, no more tomatoes can be thrown. The cleaning process involves the use of fire trucks to spray down the streets, with water provided from a Roman aqueduct. Once the tomato pulp is flushed, the ground is clean due to the acidity of the tomato.

•Do not bring bottles or hard objects as they can cause accidents and hurt other participants

•Do not rip other people’s T-shirts

•You must squash the tomatoes before throwing them as this reduces the impact

•Ensure you keep a safe distance from the lorries

•As soon as you hear the second shot, you must stop throwing tomatoes

•Wear closed shoes that you don’t mind throwing away afterwards. If you wear flip-flops, you may get hurt, or you could lose them easily during the battle

•Wear old clothes, or clothes that you aren’t planning to wear again. They will most likely end up damaged from being ripped or incredibly dirty

•You may find goggles useful. However, it is safer if you just ensure that you always have something clean to wipe your eyes with. The best thing is if you tuck your T-Shirt into your shorts to keep the bottom part of your T-shirt clean and dry

•If you are planning to take pictures, bring a waterproof camera!

•If you’re not from Buñol, and you want to stay overnight, don’t forget to look for and secure accommodation in advance

•Do not miss the Palojabón – a soap-covered pole with a Spanish ham at the top: whoever can climb the pole and get the ham can keep it!

•Stay safe and enjoy the festivities as much possible

Sky-tours wishes you a fun trip!! 🙂