A RADIO station has come under fire after running a competition where listeners can win their very own Ukrainian BRIDE.
The winner of the contest — launched by The Rock in New Zealand — will be flown out to the country where they can pick their new beloved from an agency.
They will then start married life together during a 12-night stay with free accommodation and nearly £1,000 of spending money.
Tellingly the price of the bride's flight back to the winner's home is not included in the prize.
Today outraged critics rounded on the organisers of the stunt, with social activist Sue Bradford blasting: "This takes commercial radio to new depths.
"It is unusual and somewhat disturbing that a commercial entity would commercialise what should be one of the most meaningful human relationships and actually offer it as a prize for a radio show."
The MediaWorks station running the contest admitted on its website some people would be offended.
The Rock has created a form for potential grooms to fill in online, which includes questions on criminal records and alcohol consumption per week.
The site says: "It's actually going to happen. And oh boy are there going to be some people with their panties in a twist over this one. The Rock is giving away a wife.
"We're not going to give this opportunity to just anybody ... to weed out the no-hopers and time-wasters, we've developed the application form below.
"If you're interested in holy matrimony with a potentially hot foreign chick, fill it out to the best of your abilities."
The competition started on Monday and ends on February 28, with the five finalists to be subjected to rigorous psychological tests before the winner is announced.
Programme director Brad King insisted the contest was "a bit of a laugh".
He added: "At the end of the day, it's up to both people if they decide to get married and return to New Zealand.
"We're not actually marrying anyone or bringing women back to New Zealand."
The winner of the contest — launched by The Rock in New Zealand — will be flown out to the country where they can pick their new beloved from an agency.
They will then start married life together during a 12-night stay with free accommodation and nearly £1,000 of spending money.
Tellingly the price of the bride's flight back to the winner's home is not included in the prize.
Today outraged critics rounded on the organisers of the stunt, with social activist Sue Bradford blasting: "This takes commercial radio to new depths.
"It is unusual and somewhat disturbing that a commercial entity would commercialise what should be one of the most meaningful human relationships and actually offer it as a prize for a radio show."
The MediaWorks station running the contest admitted on its website some people would be offended.
The Rock has created a form for potential grooms to fill in online, which includes questions on criminal records and alcohol consumption per week.
The site says: "It's actually going to happen. And oh boy are there going to be some people with their panties in a twist over this one. The Rock is giving away a wife.
"We're not going to give this opportunity to just anybody ... to weed out the no-hopers and time-wasters, we've developed the application form below.
"If you're interested in holy matrimony with a potentially hot foreign chick, fill it out to the best of your abilities."
The competition started on Monday and ends on February 28, with the five finalists to be subjected to rigorous psychological tests before the winner is announced.
Programme director Brad King insisted the contest was "a bit of a laugh".
He added: "At the end of the day, it's up to both people if they decide to get married and return to New Zealand.
"We're not actually marrying anyone or bringing women back to New Zealand."
