by Jon A » Tue Feb 14, 2023 5:57 pm
I think they are in for a rude awakening.
yes for sure there are some countries that are probably currently underpaying - if we see the Puteri proposal - they clearly were - because they increased their fee 10x and still lost it (although it may have nothing to do with the money in their case). Philippines could potentially pay more and maybe Thailand but I think it pretty much ends there. Most countries are already paying too much in their estimate, because the value that MUO brings to them is non existent as is clearly spelled out in the letter from the Mauritius director. As he says, in most countries, there is nothing special about Miss Universe. It is just one of many international pageant and the support is only because the ND has been a long time fan since a long lost era.
So good luck to Khun Anne
the idea is good but MUO has been an exploitative contest for a long time now, I believe for the most part they understand what the capacity of each country to pay is and have already maxed it out. I think this is all going to land with a thud. Even if they score a few short term wins in terms of higher fees, it remains to be seen if these contests can be anywhere near as prestigious or sustainable as the national contests. Colombia, Brazil, Philippines are all showing themselves to be a significant downgrade in terms of pageants - Colombia has only managed to stage one contest in three years. Brazil is a non-entity and MUP is a massive downgrade from BbPilipinas in terms of production, prestige, exposure and even contestants.
If the (lack of) reception to the new Miss Universe in Thailand is any indication (compared to when the new Grand queens received when they went to Thailand), Anne had better tread lightly on her home turf also.