Karin Laserow is Scanian of the Year at Malmö Airport
When you land at Malmö Airport, all the people exhibited in the airport's Welcome to my Hometown photo gallery welcome you on your way out of the arrival hall. One of these spaces is set aside for the Scanian of the Year, who is chosen annually by readers of the local newspaper Kvällsposten. Today the Scanian of the Year 2017 was announced.
A happy Karin Laserow was on hand at Malmö Airport today to unveil her portrait in the Scanian Welcome to my Hometown gallery. After her TV breakthrough at the age of 64, this antique dealer and TV personality has won the affection of people in the county of Scania. She has now been chosen by thousands of Kvällsposten readers as the clear winner of the Scanian of the Year 2017 honour.
Karin Laserow has been in the media a great deal this year. After hosting a summer radio show on Swedish Radio's P1 station, she will appear in her fourth season of the TV4 antiques show Bytt är bytt during the autumn. This antique dealer and TV personality will now also take a place in the Welcome to my Hometown portrait gallery at Malmö Airport as Scanian of the Year, chosen by Kvällsposten's readers.
"It is fantastic that so many people have voted for me. I do things genuinely and with my heart. When people appreciate that, it feels like there is a meeting between us. I have strong links to Scania and always have. Right now I live in the heart of Scania, outside Sjöbo, and I am happiest on Scanian soil. I like being Scanian of the Year," says Karin Laserow.
The honour of Scanian of the Year is awarded by the Scanian Flag Day Foundation in partnership with Kvällsposten. Their reason for choosing Karin Laserow was as follows: "The person chosen as Scanian of the Year should be someone who has done good PR for Scania, has a strong connection with people and carried out activities that reach a broad audience. Karin Laserow has become a familiar face for all Swedes with her appearances on Swedish television shows such as Bytt är bytt. There is great interest in antiques in Sweden – and in Scania – and Karin Laserow helps viewers get a sense of Scania in a comfortable way that is easy to understand through her programmes. This has made her a popular figure on TV who has won the affection of viewers."
"We are really pleased that so many of Kvällsposten's readers were involved in the Scanian of the Year voting. There was incredibly strong interest. And while all the nominees are worthy winners, there is no doubt about who was the favourite among people in Scania this year: Karin Laserow," says Christer El-Mochantaf, editor-in-chief of Kvällsposten.
"We welcome Karin Laserow to our airport and our portrait gallery. Having the drive and the courage to launch a TV career later in life as Karin has done makes her a very worthy winner of the Scanian of the Year honour and participant in the Welcome to my Hometown gallery," says Peter Weinhandl, airport director at Malmö Airport.
About Karin Laserow.
Karin Laserow, who was born in 1950 in Limhamn, Sweden, is an antiques dealer and TV personality. She appears on the TV4 programme Bytt är bytt. She is a member of the Swedish Art and Antique Dealers Association and runs the antiques company Laserow Antik in Sweden and in New York.
Welcome to my Hometown
The Welcome to my Hometown portrait gallery at Malmö Airport is intended to give travellers a positive start to their stay in Scania. It also gives Scanians returning home a sense of pride in their county and in Scania as a region. It consists of distinguished people who represent Scania's strengths in sport, music, gastronomy, art, culture and business.
Along with the Scanian of the Year, participants include Zlatan Ibrahimović, Jill Johnson, Birgit Nilsson, Ruben Rausing, Nour El Refai, Therese Sjögran, Bodil Jönsson, Måns Zelmerlöv, Tina Nordström, Jason "Timbuktu" Diakité, Ernst-Hugo Järegård, Dan Olofsson, Carolina Gynning and Robin Paulsson.