Wanted, Ms Sweden

STOCKHOLM, FEB 22: Miss Sweden, the title that has reaped three No 1’s in the global Miss Universe contest, is up for grabs...on the country’s jobseeker site, organisers said on Wednesday.

The job, advertised under “Search for New Miss Sweden,” is posted on the Swedish employment service agency and welcomes applications from inspirational, intelligent Swedish women with good English and communication skills. No previous employment history is required and it promises a fixed salary that will be determined by qualifications. “Your primary work task will be to communicate a positive picture of modern Sweden, but you will also be required to clearly and consequently work to promote the core values of the new Miss Sweden,” the job ad said.

Panos Papadopoulos, spokesman for “New Miss Sweden” said that “this is an ordinary job. We advertise for it just like you would do for any other job when you are looking for the right people with the right qualifications.”

“This is nothing like the old Miss Sweden anymore, it’s not a beauty pageant, it’s a job or a talent quest,” Papadopoulos said, adding that the former contest was changed to reflect the modern values of Swedish youth.

Papadopoulos, owner of the Panos Emporio brand that bought the rights to the event in 2004, changed the requirements for the Swedish title in 2006 after having pulled the country’s entry in 2005 amid heavy criticism from several women right’s movements in the country.

In the new Miss Sweden approach, the swimwear event has been scrapped, and applicants can no longer sit at home waiting to be recommended, Papadopoulos said.

“If she wants the job she has to fight for it otherwise she can stay home and be pretty.”

—AP

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