A gay couple that was leading a competition to become the faces of the latest Rusian Ikea catalogue has had their image hidden as they street ahead of the field.
The competition set up by Ikea invites members of the Russian public to visit Ikea stores, pose in front of a professional photographer and then have the image placed on the cover of their personalised magazine.
Participants can then submit those entries into an online competition to become “the main face for the Ikea cover and win Ikea prizes.”
This year’s competition, running from 9 September to October 23, has a clear front-runner – a photo of a young gay couple, shot at an Ikea store in Moscow.
Thanks to an online campaign on Russian social media site VK, their cover had attracted more than 7,500 votes at the time of writing – a lead of more than 6,000 votes over the cover in second place.
But since we started writing this story the image has been taken offline completely.
On the subject of the current Face from the Cover contest, an Ikea Russia spokesperson told Gay Star News: ‘We at Ikea are for the many. We welcome anybody regardless of their age, gender identity, sexual orientation, physical ability, ethnicity, race, nationality, religion, marital or family status, or any other dimension of their identity.
“This principle permeates every aspect of Ikea, be it employment, or any event organized by Ikea.
“In the contest, as in any activities promoted by Ikea, the very same non-discriminating principles apply.”
Update: The original couple’s image has still not returned bu there is now another gay couple in the competition with 84 votes
Last Updated on Oct 6, 2016
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