According to a source, Miss World was canceled at the last minute after at least 23 girls contracted COVID-19, causing the organization to lose millions.
“They lost… the millions in set costs to produce the pageant,” said a source close to the event, which judges contestants based on their philanthropic work rather than how they look in a swimsuit. We’ve heard that the production budget is around $5 million.
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The pageant was scheduled to take place on December 16 in Puerto Rico, but it was canceled just hours before the showtime.
“The safety of all involved had to be paramount, even if it meant additional costs,” a pageant representative tells us.
Different reports show that 23 of the 97 contestants and at least 15 members of the working staff tested positive for the virus.
Beauty guru Peter Thomas Roth was on the island to serve as a judge, telling us that “eight of the girls had already tested positive” when he arrived a few days before.
Although, COVID-19 wasn’t the only issue the show faced in the week leading up to its premiere. They also ran out of electricity.
“Everything kept getting postponed because the hotel power kept going out and they didn’t have a generator,” Roth explains. The girls needed to do hair and makeup and needed electricity, so the events were a few hours late.”
The Miss World show, which has previously starred Halle Berry and Lynda Carter, has been rescheduled for March 16 at the Puerto Rico Coliseum Jose Miguel Agrelot.
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“We are confident that the event will be a huge success in March, and we thank everyone for their support and understanding,” said a representative for the show.
Roth insists that despite the drama, he will return to the show, “It was fun being there for a week. I wasn’t nervous, I am vaccinated. I had COVID,” she said.
