20,000 people threw truckloads of tomatoes at each other for an hour, a national tradition

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More than 20,000 people gathered in Bunol, Spain, to throw 130 tons of rotten tomatoes at one another on Wednesday.

The "La Tomatina" festival is a 75-year tradition for the city, but it was forced to halt the practice for the past two years due to COVID-19. Photos show party-goers covered head-to-toe in mashed tomatoes, with many of them having the foresight to wear goggles.

The truckloads of rotten and otherwise undesirable fruit started arriving at midday, and attendees launched them at one another for more than an hour, according to Reuters.

The festival's origins are murky, but tradition says a similar fight spontaneously broke out between residents in 1945.

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The world's largest food fight festival, La Tomatina, consists of throwing overripe and low-quality tomatoes at each other. (Zowy Voeten/Getty Images)

A truck arrives at the town hall square with tomatoes to throw at the participants of the Tomatina festival in Bunol, Spain, on Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022. (Zowy Voeten/Getty Images)

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La Tomatina is billed as the largest food fight in the world.

The world's largest food fight festival, La Tomatina, consists of throwing overripe and low-quality tomatoes at each other. (Zowy Voeten/Getty Images)

Revelers enjoy the atmosphere in tomato pulp while participating in the annual Tomatina festival in Bunol, Spain, on Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022. ( Manuel Queimadelos Alonso/Getty Images)

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It is unclear how the city cleans up the mess.