Thousands of revellers descended on the Spanish town of Buñol on Wednesday for the 79th La Tomatina, where 165 tonnes of overripe tomatoes were hurled around for just over an hour.
Held on the last Wednesday of August, La Tomatina dates back to 1945 after a brawl broke out between two groups of teenage boys during a parade in the small town. From there it became an annual tradition before being banned by dictator Francisco Franco in the 1950s.
In defiance of the ban, Buñol locals staged a mock funeral in the streets, dressing in black and placing a giant tomato inside a coffin as funeral music played. The message was received and in 1959 the festiva returned, this time with official rules, including a strict time limit and a demand for participants to clean up after themselves.
It has since grown into one of Spain’s best-known and most-anticipated festivals.
More than 20,000 people were expected to take part this year, with around 40 per cent of participants in coming from outside Spain. The event has become especially popular with Indian visitors in recent years thanks to the 2011 Bollywood film Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, which famously recreated the festival.
Here are some of the best pictures from this year’s extravaganza.