Forget swiping right: Aussies serve up spaghetti, snags and southern charm in Finnish dating contest

Résumé détaillé

‘Apparently, I’ve reached a point where I need to travel 15,000 kilometres to find a girlfriend.’

Australians are sticking to the classics: spaghetti, snags and chicken parmi, apparently, as singles around the world are getting creative in the kitchen for an unusual dating competition offering a free trip to Finland, which proudly bills itself as the “happiest country in the world”.

WATCH THE ABOVE VIDEO: Finland offers free romantic getaways for Aussie singles

The romantic experiment is part of a tourism campaign by Visit Finland, which is trying to put its little-known food culture on the international table. Think wild fish, game, berries and mushrooms rather than the usual first-date pizza.

Sixteen singles will be selected for four-day, all-expenses-paid trips in February 2027, with eight heading to Helsinki and eight to Tampere.

The catch? They will be meeting strangers at a blind group dinner, joined by two local Finnish singles. And they will have to impress before they even get there.

To apply, hopeful romantics have been asked to post a video explaining what they would serve on a dinner date, and why.

The Finnish Embassy in Australia has been promoting the campaign with a cheeky Facebook post promising applicants their “future Finnlaws are waiting”.

It even joked if things go well, the Finnish Government could have them covered with one of its famous Baby Boxes, complete with baby supplies, clothes and a mattress.

“Try Finnish-ing one,” the Embassy suggested to anyone whose relationship has ended.

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