The epic La Tomatina food fight draws thousands to a small Spanish town

BUÑOL, Spain (AP) — Thousands of revelers descended on Buñol on Wednesday for the annual La Tomatina food fight , where they were set to paint the small Spanish town red with up to 165 tons of overripe tomatoes.

The messy melee takes place over an hour in the town, where buildings are covered with tarps ahead of the festivities. Held on the last Wednesday of August, the festival traces its origins to a food fight in 1945 .

La Tomatina became an annual tradition before Spanish dictator Gen. Francisco Franco banned it in the 1950s. Televised media attention in the 1980s helped turn the festival into a national event, and eventually, an international attraction.

More than 20,000 people are expected to take part this year, with Spanish news agency, EFE, reporting this week that roughly 40% of participants over the past three years are tourists from outside Spain .

There has been a notable jump in visitors from India in recent years, following the 2011 Bollywood movie “Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara” (“You Only Live Once”), in which three friends take a road-trip through Spain during an extended bachelor party. The film recreated La Tomatina, introducing the festival to many Indians.

The movie is what first drew Romail Khokhar, a 27-year-old from Mumbai, to Buñol. He was there on Wednesday morning, eager to participate in the food fight for his third time.

“I feel really great, actually. It's the best festival that I ever had, and I enjoy a lot here,” said Khokhar, who owns a clothing business.

Similar tomato-flinging events have taken place in Florida, London, Amsterdam, the Colombian town of Sutamarchán and Hyderabad, India.

Non-local attendees pay 15 euros ($17.50) for a ticket. The first and only rule: Squash your tomatoes before hurling them to avoid injuries. Still, many participants don swimming goggles and earplugs for protection.

Once the hour is up, the sound of a cannon blast marks the end of festivities and crowds wash off at communal showers nearby. The town's streets are later hosed down.

Though stains on clothes can be permanent, the tomatoes' citric acid acts as a cleaning agent, often leaving Buñol’s streets cleaner than before.