World’s most idle athletes taking part in ‘Festival of Laziness’ spend over a MONTH in bed competing for cash prize

AT Montenegro’s “Festival of Laziness”, idle athletes have spent over a month in bed hoping to be crowned the country’s “laziness citizen”. The bizarre annual event has one very specific goal – whoever can lie down for the longest period of time wins £900. AFPRecords have been smashed at the ‘Lazy Olympics’ this year[/caption] AFPThe four remaining contestants are battling it out for the title and cash prize[/caption] AFPThe bored-looking participants are confined to their beds on the floor[/caption] To celebrate its relaxed ways and poke fun at stereotypes of laziness, a hotel in the small town of Brezna has hosted the bizarre competition for the past 12 years. Participants lie on mattresses and do next to nothing in order to take home the cash prize and claim the title of Montenegro’s most inactive countryman. “The competition is a joke about the stereotype of Montenegrins being lazy, and we wanted to organise something that no one else has,” said Radonja Blagojevic, the event’s organiser. This year’s contest kicked off on August 21 and is still going strong. Out of the 21 contestants who entered, four determined bed-lovers still remain – putting their obligations to family, work and education on hold for the time being. In a barn-like building with its curtains drawn, the mattresses are sprawled across the hard wooden floor. The room is littered with dirty heaps of scattered clothes, food and blankets, while participants kill time by staring at their phones or trying to sleep. “I’ve been here for 800 hours,” said 23-year-old beautician Lidija Markovic. “I’ll get up when I get bored, and I don’t know when that will happen.” Standing or sitting results in immediate disqualification, but competitors are allowed to use mobile phones, read books, and even receive visitors. This year’s competition has seen a slight change in the rules, allowing participants to take a 15-minute break every eight hours. The previous record of five days has been shattered – thanks in part to the new rules. “I am proud of myself for enduring this long,” said Gordana Filipovic, a 36-year-old cook from a nearby village. “My husband says to me: ‘Wife, you are on vacation. Lie down and enjoy’.” Most contestants are from Montenegro, but the competition has also seen Ukrainians, Russians and Serbians come to compete. Jovan Crncanin, a 33-year-old marketing manager at a football club in Serbia’s Krusevac, is competing for the second time. Initially, the €1,000 euro [£900] cash prize was his sole motivation. But as time has passed, so has his desire for winning. “Now I’m here for myself, to prove my limits to myself and… overcome the situation and reach the end,” he said. “I hope that I will be able to transfer that experience and patience to real life.” However not everyone is supportive of the event, dubbed the “Lazy Olympics”, as beautician Lidija Markovic found out when her family visited. “My brother and parents came to beg me to stop, promising me 1,000 euros if I did. “But I told them there was no chance and that I’d stay till the end.” AFPLidija Markovic, 23, says she will not be moving anytime soon[/caption] AFPGordana Filipovic, 36, has her husband cheering her on[/caption] AFPThe small town has hosted the ‘Festival of Laziness’ for the past 12 years[/caption]