File photo: The championships were supposed to kick off on June 8 with 20 competitors from European nations due to take part, the Daily Mail reported. Picture: ANA Pics
ON PAPER, it sounded like a good idea – if you’re into that sort of thing – bring Europe’s best adult film stars together to compete for the ultimate cash prize of £860,000 (about R20 million).
In reality, it was so much worse. From the start, the event was shrouded in controversy.
Organisers claimed sex had been made a sport in Sweden, which the country’s sporting body vehemently denied.
Then, there was the actual event.
The championships were supposed to kick off on June 8, with 20 competitors from European nations due to take part, the “Daily Mail” reported.
Porn stars walk out of European Sex Championships, declaring it 'chaos' https://t.co/G86zE7aVl4 pic.twitter.com/TtqaSk6oMY
— Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) June 16, 2023
But in a matter of days, the tournament was shut down after organisers and competitors didn’t see eye to eye.
Speaking to the “Daily Star”, two contestants said the Swedish Sex Federation prevented them from leaving the warehouse where the competition was taking place.
“We were first instructed that we cannot leave this premises,” Slovenian porn star Mister Riddle told the publication.
“It was later on that we agreed that (for) one hour per day each person can go out for fresh air,“ he added.
Porn star 'winner' of European Sex Championships shares new details about 'chaotic' event - https://t.co/AjEsS85FZo pic.twitter.com/dvGGHZEAPi
— Emmanuel Mmadukaego (@Emmanuelsblog1) June 21, 2023
There were also claims that contestants were expected to sleep in the same beds they had sex on for 45 minutes a day, raising hygiene fears.
But Croatian adult film star Marija Zadravec, who was reportedly the overall winner, has defended the Swedish Sex Federation, saying her competitors were lying about their experience.
Taking to Twitter, she wrote: “This is a very big project and the organiser wanted to make all of us big, famous, world names and give us the opportunity to make a very good profit, so everyone should be grateful for that because the whole world wrote about it and everyone benefited from the advertisement from that project.”
Whether Zadravec will be paid the winnings remains to be seen.
According to the “Daily Mail”, it is believed the organisers experienced financial issues due to the fact that not enough people were paying to watch the live-streams of the event.