There's nothing like the spirit of a festival to give your stag do that extra dimension of fun and a party atmosphere, plus you get to participate in some bizarre and authentic local traditions. We love the La Tomatina event near Valencia and the European Beer Festivals are world renowned, so make your stag do as legendary as these events.
La Tomatina is famed as the world's biggest food fight and is held at the end of every August. After a huge paella cook-off the night before, the outrageous activities of the next day begin at 11am. In brief, it's one big battle of tomato throwing, where literally the whole town becomes a blood bath of the over ripe red fruits, as between 20-40,000 people descend to the streets to participate in the chucking of one hundred metric tons of the squishy toms. Tradition dictates that the war doesn't start until someone has managed to shin up a two storey high greased pole and retrieve the coveted ham at the top, but as this is such an arduous task the tomato tossing tends to begin prematurely. Protective goggles, gloves and very old clothes are recommended – we don't think you'll be wearing them again! A siren and water canons signal the beginning and end of the attack after exactly an hour, then the streets are cleaned by fire hoses until pristine again. As for yourselves, you might want to plunge into the river to wash off.
Need we say more about the raucous beer festivals of Europe. Of course they involve lots of long rows of people, lots of music and lots and lots of beer. Oompah bands never sounded so good and there are loads of drinking games to break things up. Table service from traditionally clad wenches just leaves you to crack on, be as noisy as you like and have a good time, what could be better.
