Spain's famous tomato-throwing festival is now a "pay-to-join" event. This is because of the country's poor economy. The town of Bunol is charging tourists $13 for its Tomatina festival. Regardless, all 15,000 tickets for the hour-long tomato fight have been sold. Town residents will get free tickets. The Tomatina costs 150,000 euros to organise. It must pay for the 130 tons of tomatoes used in the street battles. The town is always flooded with tomato juice.

Tourists from all over the world visit the Tomatina. Bunol's mayor said the charge was for financial and security reasons. He said there was a problem with safety in the past ten years because he never knew how many people would come. He said it was difficult to control. The festival began after the end of WWII. Some people say it was because of a fight between teenagers near a vegetable market. It ended with the kids throwing tomatoes at each other.