News

A psychic pig is set to take over where Paul the Octopus left off at the 2010 World Cup by predicting the results of matches at the European championships in Ukraine and Poland.

Kiev's city government said on Friday it would wheel out the porky tipster to give daily forecasts once the tournament kicks off next month.

"A unique oracle hog, a real Ukrainian pig and a psychic which knows the mysteries of football," a statement said. "Every day at 16.00 it will predict the result of the upcoming match."

Paul, who has since passed away, shot to fame at the 2010 World Cup after his feeding behaviour was used to correctly predict the winner of each of the Germany's seven matches.

He also tipped World Cup winners Spain to beat the Netherlands in the final in South Africa from his tank at an aquarium in Oberhausen.

Kiev officials said they wanted bring similar excitement to Ukrainians by bringing the telepathic pig to the city's fan zone before matches.

'Psychic' creatures have become the rage since Paul blazed his tentacled trail.

A rare two-headed tortoise called Magdalena embarked on a new career as a tipster at last year's ice hockey world championships in Slovakia.

Germany discovered a cross-eyed opossum called Heidi, who made an appearance on American television earlier this year to predict the Oscar winners. She died last September.

The hog will be eager to sniff out the correct result himself to avoid the chop as pork is a staple of the local cuisine.