Revelers ahead of the annual “Tomatina” tomato fight fiesta, in the village of Bunol near Valencia, Spain, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. (AP Photo\/Alberto Saiz)<\/small><\/p>\n
2026-08-26T08:37:21Z<\/p>\n
BU\u00d1OL, Spain (AP) \u2014 Thousands of revelers descended on Bu\u00f1ol on Wednesday for the annual La Tomatina food fight<\/a><\/span>, where they were set to paint the small Spanish town red with up to 165 tons of overripe tomatoes.<\/p>\n The messy melee takes place over an hour in the town, where buildings are covered with tarps ahead of the festivities. Held on the last Wednesday of August, the festival traces its origins to a food fight in 1945<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n La Tomatina became an annual tradition before Spanish dictator Gen. Francisco Franco<\/a><\/span> banned it in the 1950s. Televised media attention in the 1980s helped turn the festival into a national event, and eventually, an international attraction. <\/p>\n More than 20,000 people are expected to take part this year, with Spanish news agency, EFE, reporting this week that roughly 40% of participants over the past three years are tourists from outside Spain<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n There has been a notable jump in visitors from India in recent years, following the 2011 Bollywood<\/a><\/span> movie \u201cZindagi Na Milegi Dobara\u201d (\u201cYou Only Live Once\u201d), in which three friends take a road-trip through Spain during an extended bachelor party. The film recreated La Tomatina, introducing the festival to many Indians.<\/p>\n