Visit Sweden recently competed globally by offering five Swedish islands to foreign tourists as part of their marketing campaign, Your Swedish Island. Now, a sixth, bonus winner, has been chosen: TV presenter Chris Parente from Denver, Colorado, USA. He wins a trip for two to Stockholm and its 30,014 islands, of which the city centre is built on 14 of them.
The motivation for the bonus prize, from the jury composed of Visit Sweden, the National Property Board of Sweden, and Prime Weber Shandwick Stockholm, reads:
“With great determination and energy, the submission shows a true need for a trip to a Swedish island. However, we believe the perfect match is not a deserted island, but city life instead — so rather than awarding just one island, we would like to present a special bonus prize: welcome to Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, built on 14 islands.
Chris Parente is a multi-Emmy Award-winning presenter and entertainer. Perhaps best known as the TV anchor for Channel 2 Daybreak (KWGN-TV) in Denver, Colorado.
Chris was very quick to submit an entry to the island competition when it kicked off in April this year.
The competition has concluded and the regular winners of the five islands in the competition have already been informed. Read more about the competition and other winners here.
”When the jury had reviewed all 2,242 entries and chosen the winners for the five islands, they realised that Chris Parente, with his humour, energy and warmth, was very much a contender to win, but that a desert island stay might not be quite his thing. The jury therefore simply decided to add a bonus prize for Mr Parente: a trip to Stockholm and its islands,” says Visit Sweden CEO Susanne Andersson.
When the bonus prize of a trip to Sweden was announced, Chris spontaneously exclaimed:
”WWhat can I say other than… I am in a state of delighted shock!!! At least that’s what I *think* I should say 🙂 I am stunned, honoured, delighted and THRILLED.”
See Chris Parent's competition entry here
The bonus prize is a trip to Sweden for two people worth SEK 20,000. The winner decides themselves when the trip will take place. Whether Chris Parente brings his cheerful co-presenter, who attempts to ”speak Swedish” in the competition entry, remains to be seen.
More about the campaign and competition:
