The hour-long enthusiastic exchange of overripe tomatoes reached new records on its 70th anniversary in the town of Bunol near Valencia on Wednesday.

Seven trucks with 170 tons of tomatoes were brought into the center of the small town for the 22,000 festival-goers to throw at each other.

"It's crazy, like a massive orgy of tomatoes and people," Evaran James, a 30-year-old from Australia, commented.

Some people brought goggles so they could see through the tomato juice. Covers were draped over houses and shops to protect their walls from the pulp.

According to figures from local authorities, 20 percent of participants came from Spain, 15 percent from Britain, 10 percent from Japan, 9 percent from India, and 5 percent from Australia, along with some from the United States.

For only the third time, participants had to pay for the privilege of throwing and being hit by the tomatoes.

The event began in the tomato-producing region as a fight between children in 1945.

jm/nm (EFE, Reuters)