Miss International 2024 pageant pushes for ‘Sustainability in Pageantry’

Miss International Andrea Rubio (center) with her runners-up (from left) Nicole Borromeo, Sofia Oslo, Camila Doaz and Vanessa Hayes/. Image: INQUIRER.net/Armin P. Adina

The Miss International pageant continues to advocate for the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations, which it started to promote after a two-year pandemic pause in 2022.

“’Sustainability in Pageantry’ will be the main theme of the 62nd Miss International Beauty Pageant which will be held on November 12th, 2024 at the Tokyo Dome City Hall. This is in line with the pageant’s post-pandemic advocacy that started in 2022, ‘Beauties for SDGs,'” the organizers said on social media on Thursday, Sept. 12.

Stephen Diaz, the Filipino executive director of the Japan-based Miss International pageant, told INQUIRER.net in an online interview, “We want the fans or even the regular viewers to realize that pageantry should not be a place where our delegates are pressured to win at all cost.”

He added: “We do not want them to spend a fortune just to be in our pageant, and we do not want our partners (a.k.a. national directors) in many countries to bleed their finances just to get our license. That money should better go to charity, and we encourage our national directors and delegates to do so.”

The pageant’s social media postings also mentioned that it hopes to promote a safe and secure environment for the delegates. “We will emphasize the need NOT to be pressured by social media because popularity in social media does not equate to good performance and placement in our pageant. If they want to endorse certain products of our sponsors, it’s because they WANT to do it, not because they are forced to do so. We do not want to expose our delegates in situations where they will be in jeopardizing positions, such as getting indecent proposals or being threatened by someone,” Diaz explained. 

“Our pageant is quite known for not encouraging ‘competition’ among the delegates, and that’s probably one of the factors why fans do not really talk much about us. But that’s totally fine because it means that we are not putting the ladies on the pedestal and be exposed to cyber bullying” he added.

Diaz said he hopes that when the delegates return to their home countries after the pageant, they will pursue other endeavors. “Pageantry should NOT be their career goal, but just an avenue to better themselves. Being a national queen itself is already a victory, so they should return home with pride and honor,” he shared.

“This is also one thing that I want to emphasize to our national directors: that the success of their national pageant SHOULD NOT depend on the result of their queen’s participation at Miss International. They must develop a business model where their national pageant is confident in its own identity, and what they can do for the people in their own country,” he continued.

The pageant’s social media postings also emphasized, “The 62nd edition of Miss International promises to underline the traditional aspects of beauty pageant through a healthy and friendly competition, while also develop genuine sisterhood among the delegates, promote international and cultural understanding, and spread awareness of the 17 (SDGs).”

For the first time ever, the pageant will hold separate National Costume and Preliminary Evaluation shows at the Professional University of Beauty and Wellness in Yokohama City on Nov. 3 and 10, respectively.

The Philippines will be represented by 2022 Bb. Pilipinas Angelica Lopez in this year’s Miss International pageant. She will try to become the seventh Filipino woman to win the title after Gemma Cruz (1964), Aurora Pijuan (1970), Melanie Marquez (1979), Precious Lara Quigaman (2005), Bea Rose Santiago (2013) and Kylie Verzosa (2016).