Latvia: The blonde ambition to brighten life
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Beautiful blondes are said to brighten the dullest occasion -- and now they are rallying to fight off economic gloom.
Under the banner Make the World a Brighter Place, 2,000 blondes -- led by blonde cheerleaders and an orchestra of blondes -- are to parade through the capital of Latvia, one of the countries hardest hit by the financial crisis.
"People need positive emotions and I hope this event will cheer them up," said the organiser, Marika Gederte, of the Latvian Blondes Association.
No discrimination is involved, the group insists: brunettes and women of other hair colours are invited to join the parade -- behind the blondes.
The Blonde Parade through the country's capital Riga tomorrow is part of a Go Blonde weekend in Latvia.
There will be a ball, with prizes for, among others, the best blonde lawyer, journalist and politician; and a blonde tennis tournament and blonde golf contest, with lessons for beginners. Funds will be collected to build children's playgrounds throughout the country.
Poverty
Latvians do need cheering up. The years of double-digit growth came to a juddering halt in the autumn and the government resigned in February after rioting erupted in Riga over unemployment and poverty.
On Thursday Valdis Dombrovskis, Latvia's new prime minister, warned that the Latvian economy could shrink by 18pc this year, making the country the worst-hit economy in the European Union.
He spoke after a meeting with officials from the International Monetary Fund, which joined with the European Commission to bail out Latvia in December. Tough budget cuts and tax increases have been imposed to try to meet the terms of the loan.
Latvia's is not the first attempt to solve the world's troubles with blonde ambition: last year it was announced that the Party of Blondes would seek the Russian presidency in 2012. (© The Times, London).
