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The pole
On the Wednesday, a ham on a greased pole starts the tomato fight
On the Wednesday, the first event is the Palo Jabón, centred on a long greased pole with a piece of ham at its top. To make the ham drop, climbers must stand on each other. Around them other celebrants sing and dance in circles, and everyone is doused with water from hoses. Once the ham falls, the tomato battle commences.
The rules
The fight lasts about one hour, and the council's rules are short
Usually the fight lasts for about one hour, after which the town square is covered with tomato debris. The council asks people to squash tomatoes before throwing them, to throw only at targets they can see, and never directly at buildings. Everyone stops after the second starter pistol shot. Then fire trucks hose down the streets.
145,000 kgof tomatoes thrown in 2015, by one estimate
1945
It began in 1945, when a Big-head fell off in the square
La Tomatina started on the last Wednesday of August in 1945, when young people gathered in the square for the parade of Giants and Big-Heads. One participant's Big-head fell off, and in a fit of rage they began hitting everything in their path. A vegetable stall fell victim, and people pelted each other with tomatoes until the local forces ended the fruit fight.
The ban
In 1957 the town held a funeral for the tomato, and the ban ended
The following year friends came back with tomatoes from home, and the yearly tradition began. In the early 1950s Francisco Franco banned it for its lack of religious significance, and participants were arrested. In 1957, as a sign of defiance, residents carried a coffin with a large tomato inside, with a band playing funeral marches. The protest was successful.
Now
Since 2013 only 20,000 ticket holders may join, in a town of about 9,000
Until 2013 there was no limit to the number of participants. Since then the festival has been a ticketed event for no more than 20,000, so as not to overwhelm a town of about 9,000 people. In 2002 it was declared a Fiesta of International Tourist Interest. On August 27, 2025, the 80th anniversary, more than 22,000 people took part.
Day 2, midday
It comes after Plaza del Pueblo in Bunol. Then Turia Gardens.
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The words are a retelling of the Wikipedia article Buñol and the Wikipedia article La Tomatina, and are shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. They are checked against those articles, and a fact that is not in them is left out.