The Haro wine battle

In late June each year, the locals of Haro in the La Rioja province of northern Spain indulge in a wine battle.

The festival begins with a parade of horsemen entering Haro in the morning and planting a flag in the middle of the area where the match is to be held. Merry-makers arrive in the town with bottles of the local Rioja wine to spray over other participants.

The Batalla del Vino takes place on Saint Pedro's day - June 29th - every year at 9am, straight after the mass.

Children and adults alike take part in the event which turns the 9,000 fighters' clothes pink and which has no teams nor any discernable winners. Some children carry water-pistols filled with the wine and others have buckets of the local red.

Haro is some 60 miles away from Bilbao, a busy ferry port.

Ostensibly the battle is held over a disputed piece of land which lies between Haro and the neighbouring town of Miranda De Ebro.