Spain: More than 20,000 revellers enjoy annual Tomatina festival

Video. Spain: More than 20,000 revellers enjoy annual Tomatina festival

Thousands of revellers hurled tonnes of tomatoes at each other on Wednesday (August 28), cavorting in the red pulp beneath their feet in the Spanish town of Bunol.

Thousands of revellers hurled tonnes of tomatoes at each other on Wednesday (August 28), cavorting in the red pulp beneath their feet in the Spanish town of Bunol.

Some revellers wore goggles to protect their eyes and some buildings were draped with tarpaulin to preserve their walls, while others got soaked with the pulp, creating a scene worthy of a modern art painting.

The Tomatina is said to have originated from a spontaneous bust-up amongst villagers in 1945.

It was banned for a while during the 1950s at the height of General Francisco Franco's dictatorship but survived to gain popularity across Spain in the 1980s and today draws large crowds of visitors from abroad as well as Spaniards.

The town hall distributed more than 20,000 tickets to the festival this year.