La Tomatina is a festival held on a Wednesday towards the end of August in the town of Buñol in the Valencia region of Spain. Tens of thousands of participants come from all over the world to fight in a harmless battle, where more than one hundred metric tons of over-ripe tomatoes are thrown in the street. The weeklong festival features music, parades, dancing and fireworks. On the night before the tomato fight, participants of the festival compete in a paella cooking contest.
The concept, “Paint the Town Green”, comes from the idea that participants are to donate money to support La Tomatina’s different festivities and to cover the cost of the large amount of tomatoes used in the fight. The colour green was used in the statement because it is a unique take from the usual tomato red colour.
