- The country will not be hosting the Miss Universe beauty pageant this year, the Department of Tourism said yesterday.
- This piece of news will surely sadden all beauty pageant enthusiasts.
- Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon Teo said that the hosting is “too soon” as the country still has to host the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit this coming November.
It is final: The Miss Universe 2017 will not take place in the Philippines this year. This was announced yesterday by Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon Teo during the International Conference on Sustainable Tourism for Development in Balesin Island.
“No Miss Universe this year, Baka next year,” said Teo.
It will be recalled that last month, the Tourism chief revealed that the Philippines has been offered the hosting rights to the next edition of the pageant in November of this year. At the time, Teo said members of the Miss Universe Organization were so pleased with the good job the country has done in the previous Miss Universe 2016 that they want to do the competition in the country again. Our country had played as host to the prestigious pageant last January where France’s Iris Mittenaere won, succeeding the Philippines’ own pride, Pia Wurtzbach.
Teo said the Miss Universe organizers wanted it [the pageant] so badly to be held here in the Philippines. “When we had this recent Miss Universe, whenever I would go to the other countries, they would say, ‘Oh. We know about the Philippines because of Miss Universe,” she said. “They were saying, ‘We would like to see the place.”
Teo earlier said the country had a good ‘exposure’ from the last Miss Universe, saying the event gave the local tourism industry a major boost.
“Our islands, food, and the biggest smiles of our people are all over the news and social media these past few weeks,” she said.
“The world now knows how beautiful our islands are, how delectable our cuisines are, and how friendly and warm Filipinos are — just ask the recent Miss Universe candidates themselves.”
It would have been a good opportunity to promote the country, but the DOT chief said that hosting the event is “too soon” as the country still has to host the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit [ASEAN] in November.
The Philippines will be hosting the second ASEAN Summit on November 13 to 14 in Pampanga.
The 2017 Miss Universe is also scheduled for November. This year, the country will be fielding Filipino-British beauty queen Rachel Peters.
