 Smooching by the pool is one of the joys of summer the world over -- but at one Italian aquapark, it's a competitive sport and a business opportunity.
The Acquafan park in Riccione, a holiday resort on Italy's northeastern coast, proclaimed the World Kissing Day Games open on Sunday and estimates 10,000 kisses were performed in events ranging from "basketball kissing" to "underwater kissing." "Hundreds of people took part. It was a very joyful occasion," said Pier Pierucci, one of the organizers of the contest. "We were going to hold another World Kissing Day next year but after the huge success we're tempted to do it again this summer," he added. The games included some traditional events such as the longest kiss -- won by a couple whose lips remained locked for 32 minutes -- but there were more unusual contests such as underwater kissing, with the winning couple lasting 29 seconds. In the basketball event, couples had to get as many balls through the hoops as possible while kissing. "There were some impressive performances. Some people are really talented," said Pierucci. (Agencies) | 在游泳池里擁吻是世界各地人們夏季里的一大歡樂--但是在一家意大利的一家水上游樂園里，它成為一項競技體育比賽同時也蘊涵著巨大的商機。 Riccione的游泳迷公園是意大利東北海岸的一個渡假勝地。公園宣布世界接吻日大賽在星期日舉行，比賽項目從"投籃接吻"到"水下接吻"，估計有近10,000個吻在這里上演。 比賽的組織者之一皮埃爾·佩魯奇說："成千上萬的人參加了這次比賽，這是一次非常開心的盛會。" "我們本打算明年再舉辦一次世界接吻日比賽，但是既然這次取得了巨大的成功，我們很想今年夏天再舉辦一次。"他說。 這次比賽包括一些傳統項目，例如時間最長的接吻--榮獲此項冠軍的兩個人接吻長達32分鐘。但是比賽更多的是不尋常的項目，如水下接吻，最終獲勝的一對持續了29秒。 在投籃項目中，一對對參賽選手要一邊接吻一邊向籃圈內投盡可能多的球。 "有些表演很精彩，一些參賽者真是很有表演天賦。" 佩魯奇說。 （中國日報網站譯） |
Updated: 2003-07-10 01:00
