Mr Gay England crowned the winner of Mr Gay Europe

Aug 09 2017
Written by Joseph McCormick

Illustrated rainbow pride flag on a white background.

Mr England has gone on to win Mr Gay Europe 2017.

Matt Rood, 37, from Brighton, was crowned Mr Gay Europe at a ceremony in Stockholm.

Mr Gay Ireland came second in the competition which took place at the end of Stockholm Pride on Saturday 5 August.

Mr Gay England

Writing on Twitter, Rood said: “I am totally honoured and proud to have won Mr Gay Europe 2017 and bring the title home to ENGLAND.”

The professional dog walker and trainer came second in the preliminary interview, the photo and sports challenges, and third in the written test, and fourth in an online vote.

But he came first in the Social Media Challenge and ‘My Project’ challenge, scoring 845 out of a maximum of 1200 points.

A statement from the president of Mr Gay Europe, Tore Aasheim, said: “Matt Rood is one of the most dedicated and hardworking gay activist that I have had the honour to get to know through Mr Gay Europe.

“With his big heart, his kind attitude but also strong devotion, and with a project that shows that he really put his money where his mouth is, Matt both showed us his commitment and the fact that you don’t need to be a twink to win Mr Gay Europe”.

Speaking before the final, Mr Gay England said he wanted to use the larger platform to raise awareness of same-sex adoption and fostering.

“Taking part would enable me to use this as a platform to help promote equality in the adoption and fostering services,” he wrote.

“As a former foster carer and an out and proud gay man I have knowledge and experience of this subject and would like to encourage a positive attitude globally,” he said.

Mr Gay Scotland also came in third and Mr Gay Wales came in fourth.

The fifth place was taken by Mr Gay Portugal.

Rood will reign as Mr Gay Europe until next year’s competition and will act as LGBT+ Ambassador in that time.

Last year’s Mr Gay Scotland was stripped of his title.

The formerly reigning Mr Gay Scotland Jamie Love had objected to having to fund a £1,000 trip to Stockholm to compete in Mr Gay Europe.

He said he thought it would be a better use of his time to attend the West Lothian Pride in Scotland instead.