People vying for ‘Laziest Citizen’ honours have been lying down for 20 days

What started out as a 21-person competition has now been whittled down to just seven relaxed contenders.

A competition to crown Montenegro’s “Laziest Citizen” has entered its 20th day, completely shattering the previous record.

The initial field of 21 competitors has been whittled down to just seven, as residents of the resort village of Brezna, Montenegro take to doing little more than lying around on makeshift beds on the ground.

This year’s competition started three weeks ago, in mid-August. It was first held 12 years ago, organizer Mico Blagojevic told Kosova Press, as a satirical way to poke fun of the myth that Montenegrins are “lazy.”

Dubravka Aleksic, one of this year’s competitors, held the previous record for staying in bed for 117 hours in 2021.

But, now, that record has been blown to smithereens as the lie-in enters its third week. The remaining seven competitors have been lying down for more than 460 hours.

“All of us feel good, excellent, there are no health problems. They are pampering us, all we have to do is to remain lying down,” Aksic, 38, told Reuters.

While competitors are allowed to eat, drink, use their devices and read, they must do it all while lying down. They are allowed to take a bathroom break once every eight hours, but if they sit or stand outside of that time they face immediate disqualification.