Culture must be one of the most misunderstood words ever.
For some, it is synonymous with pretentiousness, with the so-called artsy fartsy crowd, the pseudo-intellectuals.

For others it is equivalent to a skip, a catch-all phrase that captures even the most dubious entertainment endeavours.

I'm not sure which is worse. What I do know, however, is that the mind boggles when a pop star - whose biggest claim to fame is not his artistic work but the string of hot chicks he dates and his sculpted abs -suddenly becomes appointed Ambassador of Culture for Valletta.

I won't bay for the blood of whoever came up with this gimmick. He or she is getting enough of a lynching on the social media as it is.  And I can actually see the reasoning behind awarding the title to every half-penny celeb who washes up on our shores.

After all, if Peter Andre (of course it is him I'm writing about) mentions Malta once during a concert, the exposure we get is significant. And certainly cheaper than taking out an ad campaign. I am pretty sure this is the motivation behind the move.

This, however, doesn't make it acceptable. Do we really want the rest of the world to think that we are mistaking what Peter Andre does for  'Culture'?

I don't think so.

Get all the mileage you like from his visit, by all means. But call him an Ambassador for Tourism or something equally harmless.

Before we become a laughing stock with anyone who possesses an iota of good taste.