Peter Andre appointed ambassador of Malta's capital - but why are locals furious?

Peter Andre has been appointed cultural ambassador of Malta's capital Valletta and locals are furious as the singer has only visited the city once.

According to the Sun, Andre, who has no links to the island, was unanimously voted by city councillors to promote the rich history and art of the World Heritage site.

But more than 1,000 locals have signed a petition for him to be stripped of the title.

The Mysterious Girl singer, 39, was in Malta last week to take part in the Malta Music Awards and on the request of his promoters met up with Valetta mayor Alexei Dingli at the President's Palace.

The Times of Malta reports that the meeting lasted about half-an-hour, where the council bestowed the title and discussed a future collaboration.

According to Dr Dingli, Andre is 'very fond' of Valletta - despite only visiting the island once.

He said the title of cultural ambassador 'can be given to someone of certain fame, be fond of Valletta and is willing to help in the promotion of our city abroad.'

All seven local councillors of Valletta voted for the singer to be appointed.

Locals took to social media websites to express their anger. One wrote: 'Peter Mr Andre should be the last person to carry such title!'

Another said: 'Will every artist that graces our island become an ambassador too? Snoop Dogg, anyone?'

Dr Dingli defended the decision saying: 'The title can be misleading perhaps. He does not represent the culture of Valletta, we're just seeing it from a promotion point of view.'

He added: 'Valletta will feature prominently in his ITV show which has an average viewership of 1.7 million.'

Peter Andre is the second Cultural Ambassador for Valletta after Cliff Richard, who was appointed two years ago.

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