Bunol - Tomatoes squish, splat and spatter
Print Edition
Facing a squished budget, the town hosting Spain’s annual tomato-throwing festival, La Tomatina, charged a fee for the first time.
Some 20,000 people from across the world — mostly Australians, Japanese and Britons — on Wednesday packed the eastern town of Bunol, many wearing goggles to protect their eyes from the stinging juice, before launching into a gigantic one-hour food fight.
This year, they paid a minimum of 10 euros (US$13) for the privilege of pelting each other with tomatoes in streets that end up flooded in red juice. Then they bathe in a river.
It cost 750 euros to get up on one of the trucks bringing in a record 130 tons of tomatoes.
Around 5,000 free tickets were given to Bunol residents.
Organizers have cut the number of participants by half citing safety concerns over the size of crowds.
This year, there were 180 safety officials, 50 private security as well as police and organizers. And nine ambulances and several helicopters.
“This is the first year we charged for access due the need to limit the crowd for safety reasons,” Bunol town hall said in a statement.
“We have had a problem for the past eight or 10 years: the Tomatina is not controlled, we don’t know how many people are going to come,” Bunol Mayor Joaquin Masmano Palmer told Spanish media. The town says the food fight is a “heavy cost.”
For the first time, a private company, SpainTastic, sold tickets, sparking concern that Spain’s recession-hit town festivals may be on the path to privatization.
Tickets were sold out. Australians bought 19 percent, Japanese with 18 percent, Britons with 11 percent, Spaniards 8 percent and Americans 7.5 percent.
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