# National Face Distorting Contests Spain's Ugly Competition is a Breath of Fresh Air By Vivian Lau | Published 2012-08-28 | World Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/ugly-competition References: [buzzfeed](http://www.buzzfeed.com/gavon/ugly-competition-in-spain-is-the-olympics-of-una) & [spiegel.de](http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/spanish-city-of-bilbao-holds-ugly-face-competition-a-851965.html) The National 'Ugly Competition' in Spain is a spin on the [conventional beauty pageant](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/comedy-collaboration) that has infiltrated most countries, age groups and genders. This [unique contest](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/taco-cabanas) stresses that "the grosser, the better." As part of the Aste Nagusia (Great Week) festival in Bilbao, Spain, the event is a nine-day celebration organized between the Txosnas and City Hall. To create more energy, live music and fireworks are featured. A variety of kids and adults are shown pulling [funny faces](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/nonnas-cam) and rolling their eyes back into their heads to achieve the most gruesome grimace possible. Given the depressing unemployment prospects in the country, the competition is a humorous way for people to let off some steam. ## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter) - Score: 6.6/10 - Popularity: 96% | Activity: 95% | Freshness: 8% - Audience gender: 50% men, 50% women - Primary generations: Gen Z, Millennial, Gen X - Top markets: Europe ## Categories [Trend Hunter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends) > [World](https://www.trendhunter.com/world) > [Regional](https://www.trendhunter.com/regional) ## Key Themes ### What Makes This Trend Stand Out - **Unconventional Beauty Competitions:** Opportunity to create unique beauty competitions that challenge traditional notions of attractiveness and celebrate individuality. - **Humor as Stress Relief:** Opportunity to develop innovative events and activities that provide a humorous and lighthearted way for people to cope with stress and let off steam. - **Celebrating Uniqueness:** Opportunity to create inclusive events that encourage self-expression and celebrate different forms of beauty. ### Sectors Adopting This - **Event Planning:** Opportunity for event planners to create and organize unconventional beauty competitions and fun stress-relief activities. - **Entertainment:** Opportunity for the entertainment industry to develop new formats for humor-based events that provide stress relief for individuals. - **Tourism:** Opportunity for tourist destinations to attract visitors by hosting unique and unconventional events that celebrate uniqueness and provide a lighthearted experience. ## Related on Trend Hunter - [AI Beauty Pageants](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/miss-ai.md) - [Failure-Celebrating Festivals](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/faal-festival.md) - [Unsightly Oatmeal Campaigns](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/quaker-deliciously-ugly-campaign.md) - [Cheeky Non-Alcoholic Cocktail Events](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/no-fun-cocktail.md) - [Social Good Beard Contests](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/benevolent-beards-contest.md) - [Artistic Libation Campaigns](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/paint-your-pint-competition.md) - [Distorted Burger Campaigns](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/ailloween.md) - [Cosmetic Branding Design Initiatives](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/unsexydesignchallenge.md) - [Cringe-Worthy Photo Campaigns](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/cringe-or-candy.md)