The world’s biggest and most famous tomato fight in Spain has been cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic, in yet another blow to the country’s tourism industry.
La Tomatina, in which 20,000 revellers pelt each other with ripe tomatoes, is held each summer in the town of Bunol, Valencia. It attracts competitors and spectators from all over the globe and is considered one of the biggest street fiestas in Spain.
This year’s Tomatina fiesta was meant to have been held in August for its 75th anniversary but Bunol council today confirmed it has been cancelled.
Mayor Juncal Carrascosa confirmed the news and said they were adhering to their responsibilities during the pandemic. It is the first time the tomato-throwing party has been axed since 1957 and that was due to political reasons.
Above, revellers take part in the annual tomato fight which Bunol authorities have cancelled this year amid the coronavirus pandemic. Usually more than 30,000 pounds of tomatoes are thrown in the fiesta
‘There is no escaping how difficult it would be to organise our most international party under these conditions, where the optimal conditions of sanitary control for the participants could not be guaranteed,’ she said.
Juncal Carrascosa said deputy mayor, María Valles, in charge of the fiesta organisation, had raised the issue of cancelling La Tomatina with the local council and it had been unanimously agreed to do so.
An announcement was not due to be made until April 27th but as the decision had been leaked, it was decided to make a formal announcement.
Above, a reveller covered in tomato pulp participates in the annual ‘Tomatina’ festival in 2019. The iconic fiesta is a major draw for tourists, many who travel from as far as the United States to participate
María Vallés said they were already working on ways to keep the festival alive and current and assured that the 2021 edition would be held as normal.
‘We have to look to the future at all times, with the certainty that all this will happen. We have had to live a complex situation that had not been produced so far and we are facing it, with the spirit implicit in Tomatina herself, fighting peacefully to beat the virus, ‘ she said.
Likewise, the 2021 event would celebrate the belated 75th anniversary under the slogan 75 plus one.
‘Such an outstanding anniversary must be celebrated as a milestone of this importance requires and not be tarnished by a negative situation,’ said Maria Valles.
‘Extending the 75th anniversary to 2021 is not a postponement but an extension, thus offering more content and more milestones that further enhance the Tomatina festival.’
Deputy mayor María Vallés said they were already working on ways to keep the festival alive and current and assured that the 2021 edition would be held as normal
Mayor Juncal Carrascosa said she hoped news of the cancellation would be greeted with calm and in the spirit in which it was taken – to preserve people’s health and not to put them at risk, despite its vast tourism appeal and income.
‘All the decisions that have been made during this Covid-19 crisis have always been made with the common good in mind and with the certainty that we will recover normality and Tomatina will return to dye the streets of Buño,’ she pledged.
The news is yet another blow to Spain’s tourism industry and comes just a day after the famous Pamplona bull run was called off because of the pandemic.
Hotels and attractions have already been thrown into turmoil by the shutdown in one of the world’s top tourist destinations.
The San Fermin celebration is centuries old and typically attended by hundreds of thousands of people.
During the celebration half-tonne fighting bulls chase hundreds of daredevils, many of whom wear traditional white shirts and scarves, through the narrow streets of the city each morning.
The annual Fiesta de San Fermin (pictured above) was made famous by Ernest Hemmingway’s 1926 novel The Sun Also Rises. It involves the daily running of the bulls through the historic heart of Pamplona to the bull ring – but this year’s event has been suspended
The municipal council agreed to suspend the event, which is held each year between July 6 and 14.
Yesterday the acting mayor of Pamplona Ana Elizalde told a news conference: ‘As expected as it was, it still leaves us deeply sad.
Acting mayor of Pamplona Ana Elizalde told a news conference: ‘As expected as it was, it still leaves us deeply sad.
‘In this context there is no place for fireworks, bullfights or bull runs. We are supposed to wear masks, keep a social distance – measures that are incompatible with what San Fermin is.’
The news of the cancelled tomato festival comes as Spain today saw a rise in new coronavirus cases and deaths as prime minister Pedro Sanchez said the country is aiming to lift the lockdown within weeks.
Sanchez said the state of emergency will be eased in the second half of May while children will be allowed outside from this weekend after a backlash against a ban on outdoor exercise.
Spanish health officials recorded 4,211 new cases today, more than yesterday’s 3,968, bringing the total from 204,178 to 208,389.
There were also 435 more deaths, a marginal increase from yesterday’s 430, taking the Spanish death toll from 21,282 to 21,717.
This graph shows the number of coronavirus cases added to the Spanish government’s tally every day. Today’s figure of 4,211 was slightly higher than yesterday’s 3,968
This chart shows the daily number of deaths, which has fallen from its peak of 950 on April 2 and has remained around 400 for the last few days
The latest 4,211 cases include 1,202 in the Madrid region and 690 in Catalonia, which are the two worst-affected parts of Spain.
Today’s increase in cases of 2.1 per cent is very similar to that in the last five days.
The 435 new deaths are the highest figure since Saturday, including 117 new fatalities in Madrid and 96 in Catalonia.
The death toll is feared to be far higher in reality because the Spanish government’s figures do not include thousands more deaths registered in Catalonia.
Catalonia has taken a tally from funeral homes which suggests the death toll there could be more than 7,000, well above the Spanish government’s figure of 4,247.
The government’s count only includes people who were tested for Covid-19 before their deaths, meaning that many are likely to have been missed.
Spain’s emergency response chief, Fernando Simon, has acknowledged that the ‘real number of deaths is hard to know’.
Member’s of Madrid’s emergency services wearing protective gear take a coronavirus patient from an ambulance to a hospital in the Spanish capital on Monday
Two health workers help a third person with his protective gear in Madrid yesterday, in the region which has been hardest-hit by the crisis in Spain
Nonetheless, prime minister Pedro Sanchez said today that Spain is hoping to begin winding down the lockdown within weeks.
Spain’s lockdown is one of the toughest in Europe because people are not allowed outside for exercise, keeping children virtually imprisoned in their homes.
On Tuesday night, the government bowed to public pressure and said children under 14 would be able to take short walks outside under supervision.
The cabinet had initially said children would only be allowed to accompany parents to buy food or medicine, prompting anger.
‘This is a government that listens,’ said health minister Salvador Illa.
Earlier, government spokeswoman Maria Jesus Montero said after a cabinet meeting that the measure marked a ‘slight easing’ of the lockdown.
‘We are asking fathers and mothers to be responsible,’ she said.
The wider state of emergency is set to be extended until May 9, but the PM says measures will be eased slowly and gradually from the second half of May.
‘We will be going back-and-forth depending on how the pandemic evolves,’ Sanchez said.
Carmaker SEAT, a subsidiary of Germany’s Volkswagen, says it plans to resume production on April 27.
The company employs around 15,000 people and plans to carry out 3,000 tests a week on its workforce to reduce the risk of contagion.
A medical worker wearing blue protective gear attends to a patient in a temporary field hospital in Madrid’s Ifema exhibition centre