Spain's economic problems mean one of its most famous festivals is now a "pay-to-join" event. The cash-strapped town of Bunol will start charging people to take part in its Tomatina tomato-throwing festival. Tourists will have to pay 10 euros ($13) for the hour-long tomato fight. Regardless, all 15,000 tickets have been sold. Local residents will get 5,000 free tickets. The Tomatina costs 150,000 euros to organise. A lot of that goes toward paying for the 130 tons of tomatoes used as ammunition in the street battles. The streets are flooded with tomato juice at the end of the festival.

Tourists from all over the world have visited the Tomatina for decades. Bunol's mayor said the decision to charge for the first time was for both financial and security reasons. He said: "We…need to limit the crowd for safety reasons. We have had a problem for the past eight or 10 years. The Tomatina is not controlled. We don't know how many people are going to come." The festival began after the end of WWII. There are many reports about its origins. Some people say a fight between teenagers near a vegetable market ended up with the youths throwing tomatoes at each other.