One of the best known Valencia festivals, La Tomatina, will return to the festivities calendar this year, with reduced capacity and health protocols in place, after a break forced by the pandemic.

The date chosen for the event is Wednesday 31 August, at the end of summer, as usual. The covid-19 pandemic forced the suspension of the 2020 editions and also that of 2021, but this 2022 the city council led by the socialist Juncal Carrascosa has taken the step forward.

“The conditions will be the ones that the pandemic is putting on us, trusting that the health organisations see that the forecasts will be very close to normal,” Carrascosa said. The council will put a total of 15,000 tickets on sale shortly, shortly after the Fallas de València pass. “We cannot wait much longer to announce it because La Tomatina needs a lot of contracting work,” said the municipal leader.

The council consider that, if other festivities with contact between people are going to be able to be celebrated this year, such as San Fermín in Pamplona, ​​the Tomatina meets the requirements to return.

They consider that, by enabling “well-organised entry and exit points”, they will be able to organise the event without problems, stressed the mayor. In any case, “there is limited capacity and some extra measure,” said Carrascosa.