Photos: Thousands join Spain’s La Tomatina festival for epic tomato battle

What the report says

Al Jazeera reports that thousands of people gathered in Buñol, a town near Valencia in eastern Spain, for the annual La Tomatina festival on Wednesday, 26 August 2026. During about an hour of tomato-throwing, trucks unloaded as much as 165 tonnes of overripe tomatoes into the streets, and more than 20,000 participants were expected to take part. Many festival-goers wore white clothing that quickly turned red as they joined the chaotic celebration.

According to the article, local authorities prepared for the event by covering buildings with tarps and deploying police. At one point, officers were reported to have used pepper spray to break up part of the crowd, though the festivities soon continued. The event ended when a cannon blast signaled the close of the battle, after which participants washed off at communal showers and crews cleaned the streets.

The piece places La Tomatina in historical context, noting that it began as a local food fight in 1945, survived a ban during the Franco era, and later became a global tourist attraction. Al Jazeera also says Spanish media have reported that roughly 40% of recent participants were international visitors, including a growing number from India, influenced in part by the 2011 Bollywood film Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. The festival is one of Spain’s best-known summer spectacles and an example of how a local tradition has expanded into an international event.