La Tomatina

What actually happens

Palo jabón — climbing a greased pole to retrieve the ham that starts everything. The hour itself — trucks, tomatoes, and no rules beyond 'squash it first'.

• 01Palo jabón — climbing a greased pole to retrieve the ham that starts everything.
• 02The hour itself — trucks, tomatoes, and no rules beyond 'squash it first'.
• 03La bajada — the closing hose-down, and the search for anything you lost.
• 04The week around it — parades, fireworks and a paella contest on the eve.

Sound of the crowd

Brass bands walk the streets through the week; a DJ runs the plaza on the night itself. The soundtrack for the hour is 22,000 people screaming and nothing else.

How it survived

Reinstated in 1957 and documented from 1975, when a report by a Spanish journalist brought national attention. Ticketing and a hard cap were introduced in 2013 to cap attendance at 22,000.