Ben Southall will spend six months swimming, blogging and soaking in the sun. Tourism Queensland picked the Brit from 16 finalists yesterday – not to mention 34,700 video entries from nearly 200 countries. The job pays A$150,000 (US$110,000) for Southall’s “efforts.”
His thoughts: “I hope I can fill the boots as much as everybody is expecting, my swimming hopefully is up to standard and I look forward to all of the new roles and the responsibilities that the task involves.”
My thoughts: Don’t hurt yourself, Ben. Nobody’s really expecting anything profound from a publicity stunt.
To secure his new gig, Southall overcame finalists from 15 countries, including students, journalists, a receptionist and an actress. Oh, and a porn star. MSNBC forgot that one.
Meanwhile, Tourism Queenland‘s already thinking ahead. This gimmick could become an annual event.