THE “Most Beautiful Night in the Universe” almost never came to be. There were strong speculations that, contrary to widespread rumors, the Miss Universe pageant would not happen here and will go back to its de-facto home in Las Vegas.
Apparently, William Morris Endeavor-International Management Group (WME-IMG), the Miss Universe Organization (MUO) owner, had been offended when our loquacious leader likened the Holocaust to his divisive war on drugs. (WME co-CEO Ari Emmanuel led the Hollywood blacklisting of Mel Gibson for his anti-Semitic rants). After the President apologized, negotiations to hold the pageant in the Philippines were fast-tracked and sponsorships came pouring in. When the MUO assessed that, besides the incredible fan base, the infrastructure and financing were ready, they agreed to let our country host the 65th edition of the competition on January 30, 2017, at the Mall of Asia Arena.
“It’ll be a three-hour telecast. So, for three hours, the entire world—about 180 countries and territories—is going to see everything the Philippines has to offer. So what we do, our expertise is to highlight the Philippines, to highlight the country we’re in. We’re going to do a good job at it. We’ve been doing this for 65 years,” said an enthusiastic Shawn McClain, MUO VP of Business Development and Marketing, during the press call and contract signing at the Makati Shangri-La on November 16.
“We’ll be helping boost tourism. We’ll be helping put a positive focus on everything that the Philippines is, what it stands for and what it will be in the future,” McLain added. A team of 400 production people will be visiting places around the country to show the world that it is, indeed, more fun in our 7,107 islands.
“Bringing a pageant like this, they say it takes a village to raise a child,” he said (in an apparent nod to a book by Hillary Clinton, who lost the US election to former MUO owner, President-elect Donald Trump), “and the same thing is true of the Miss Universe pageant, because it really takes a village to pull the whole thing together, and this wouldn’t be possible without the help of local partners here.”
Former Ilocos Sur Governor Luis C. Singson was instrumental in bringing the most beloved pageant among Filipinos back to the country for the third time, after 1974 (when our own Margarita Roxas Moran crowned her successor, Spain’s Amparo Muñoz, at the Folk Arts Theater on July 19, 1974, in the presence of 1969’s Gloria Diaz, 1952’s Armi Kuusela of Finland and 1967’s Sylvia Hitchcock of USA) and 1994 (when Puerto Rico’s Dayanara Torres relinquished her crown to India’s Sushmita Sen at the Philippine International Convention Center on May 20, 1994, with 1990’s Mona Grudt of Norway and 1992’s Michelle McLean of Namibia in attendance).
“While there were talks of bringing the Miss Universe back to the country, there were always other suitors around the world that also expressed their interest in hosting. But we worked tirelessly to make sure the Philippines would not lose this bid. We realized there’s no better time than now to host, especially since the reigning Miss Universe, as you all know, is our very own Miss Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach,” Singson said.
Working closely with the Department of Tourism (DOT), the LCS Group leads companies from the private sector in ensuring the successful staging of Miss Universe in the country. They include Kazuo Okada of Okada Manila (the crown jewel of the enthralling Entertainment City in Manila, which I presume will be the home of the candidates and organizers); Wilson Tieng of Solar Entertainment (the largest provider and content operator in Southeast Asia that will be the official local media partner) and Hans Sy of SM Lifestyle Entertainment Corp. (which will provide its Arena as the venue for the coronation night).
“The DOT, with the approval of President Duterte, has always been vocal about our support for the Miss Universe pageant, which we believe will showcase the Philippines’s true beauty and tourist attractions. We are confident this will boost the number of visitors that will come to our friendly shores in the coming years,” Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon T. Teo said in a statement read by Assistant Secretary Frederick M. Alegre.
Jonas Antonio Gaffud, whose Aces & Queens beauty collective trained Venus Raj, Shamcey Supsup, Janine Tugonon, Ara Arida, Pia Wurtzbach and reigning Miss Universe Philippines Maxine Medina, is tasked to be the creative director for the pageant. “We will bring them to Cebu, Palawan for snorkelling, and Boracay for parasailing,” said Gaffud, citing the islands that made it to the top 10 best list in the world.
Singson finds no better tribute to Queen Pia than for her to finish her reign and crown her successor right here in her homeland. “Thank you so much for the prestige that you have brought to the country. Who knows, with any luck, maybe another Filipina will wear the crown next,” the governor said. “We have a lot of work ahead of us, but I’m sure everyone here is anxious to get started. The eyes of an entire nation, in fact the whole world, will be on us. I’m sure, when all is said and done, there will be more than just beauty queens in the global memory, but the beauty of our country, as well.”