Spain's Legendary 'La Tomatina' Festival Returns After A 2-Year Gap Due To COVID-19

Zoya Akhtar's 'Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara' popularised the 'La Tomatina' festival,  the festive food fight that is an annual affair in Spain. The same reason why so many Indians now visit Spain is to attend this event.

Excel Entertainment

This well-liked annual celebration, where participants fling tons of overripe tomatoes at one another, usually takes place every last Wednesday in August. However, due to the pandemic, the festival was stopped.

The famous "Tomatina" street tomato fight in Spain returned to normal on Wednesday after a two-year hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic. People from all over the world took part in the battle.

The eastern town of Bunol's main street was covered with red pulp after 130 tons of overripe tomatoes were unloaded by workers on trucks for participants to throw.

Participants wear swim goggles to protect their eyes while their clothing, usually T-shirts and shorts, are left pulp-covered.

La Tomatina, Spain | popsugar.com

The festival was expected to draw up to 20,000 attendees, who would pay 12 euros ($12) for entry. After the hour-long noon fight, the town's streets were hosed down, and the revelers hurriedly showered off.

A food fight between neighborhood children in 1945 in the town, which is situated in a tomato-producing region, served as the inspiration for the celebration, which was celebrated on the final Wednesday of August.

As a result of media coverage in the 1980s, it developed into a significant national and global event that attracted people worldwide. 

Local authorities predicted fewer international tourists this year due to the ongoing COVID-19 concerns in Asian nations.

The celebration this year had the extra benefit of being the 75th anniversary of the event and 20 years since Spain designated the festival as an international tourist destination, in addition to being the first fight before the pandemic started in Spain in 2020.

(With agency inputs)

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