Spain’s iconic tomato fight returns after pandemic pause

Buñol, Spain, Aug 31 (EFE).- The deep red flesh and juice of 130,000 kilograms of tomatoes coated thousands of revelers and inundated the streets of Buñol Wednesday as Spain’s iconic Tomatina festival returned following a thousand-day hiatus due to the pandemic.

The tomato fight got underway at the stroke of midday with six truck loads of the fruit brought in for ammunition.

As is now tradition, the majority among the throngs of participants wore white clothing and goggles, the latter to protect against the acidity of the tomato juice.

The return of the Tomatina festival to the town near Valencia was less international than previous editions due to ongoing coronavirus restrictions preventing people from outside Europe traveling to Spain with ease.

There were an estimated 8,000 foreigners taking part in this year’s Tomatinas, as well as 7,000 locals, according to Buñol’s mayor Juncal Carrascosa.

The Tomatina tomato fight was started in 1945 by a couple of bored young locals.

It has since risen to world-renown and generates 2 million euros for the regional economy. EFE

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