Manila, Philippines - In less than two months, the Philippines will welcome delegates for the most prestigious beauty pageant in the planet, the Miss Universe, as the country is finally confirmed to be the host country of the pageant's 65th edition. The Philippines is hosting the Miss Universe almost 43 years after the pageant crazy country hosted it for the first time in 1974.
ABS-CBN News reported that to put all into concrete agreement, the Department of Tourism of the Philippines, together with the sponsors and representatives of the Miss Universe Organization, signed the partnership contract which would seal the deal for the southeast Asian nation staging the 65th Miss Universe competition. The finals night is scheduled on January 29, 2017 (January 30 in the Philippines) but delegates are expected three weeks prior for various preliminary countries expected to be hosted in different parts of the country.
Representing the Miss Universe Organization in the signing and official press conference is Shawn McClain, vice president of business development and marketing of the Miss Universe Organization. He said before the media that the Philippines will be greatly benefited by the three hour telecast of Miss Universe.
"We will have a team of about 400 people here, and we're gonna be visiting lots of different places, and we're going to be showing the world what the Philippines has to offer. And we're gonna be helping boost tourism, and putting positive focus on everything that the Philippines is and stands for and will be in the future," McClain said.
Former politician and ex-governor Chavit Singson of the Philippine province of Ilocos Sur was also present in the ceremonial contract signing held at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel. Singson's holding company, LCS Group, serves as the pageant's official host. He said that all TV networks in the Philippines will be allowed to air the pageant, upon the request of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, CNN Philippines reported.
The coronation event will be held at the 15,000-seater SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City, where reigning Miss Universe Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach of the Philippines will crown her successor before her own countrymen. The program will run from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. and will be broadcast live in 190 countries.
Singson also revealed before the press that the Philippine hosting of the Miss Universe pageant was initially canceled by the pageant's owners. He clarified, however, that this initial cancellation was not due to lack of funding. He reiterated that his group shouldered about $12.9 million for the staging of the pageant, ABS-CBN News reported.
He disclosed that the owners backed out from the initial agreement of Philippine hosting Miss Universe. This is even after Singson's group and co-investors have already paid in full. Singson said that the owners are in fact ready to pay damages should Singson would sue in court for breach of contract.
The Miss Universe pageant is owned by Ari Emanuel who is the brother of President Barack Obama's chief of staff, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Singson refused to delve into the details of the reasons behind the cancellation of the pageant. However, he hinted that it could be related to politics.
