THE Tourism department on Sunday confirmed that the Miss Universe beauty pageant will be held here in 2017, and that the coronation night will still be hosted by Steve Harvey.
Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo said Harvey will remain the host despite opposition from President Rodrigo Duterte. She earlier said Harvey had a five-year contract with the organizers of the Miss Universe beauty pageant.
Harvey drew flak after announcing Miss Colombia as the winner of the Miss Universe beauty contest in 2016 during coronation night, but the real winner was Philippine bet Pia Wurtzbach.
Teo said she had yet to talk to the Miss Universe organization regarding the possibility that Harvey might have a Filipino co-host during coronation night.
Wurtzbach will lead the contingent of at least 30 Miss Universe candidates at the end of January.
Baguio Country Club general manager Anthony de Leon said private tourism stakeholders will contribute to the P15 million needed to host the contestants in Baguio.
The Tourism department estimates that the cost of hosting the beauty pageant will be $11 million.
That amount will be shouldered by the private sector led by Japanese billionaire and Tiger Resort chief Kazuo Okada and Henry Sy, the Philippines’ richest man.
The Miss Universe beauty pageant was held in Manila for the first time in 1974, when Miss Universe 1973 Margarita Moran crowned Amparo Muñoz of Spain, and in 1994 when India’s Sushmita Sen was crowned by Dayanara Torres.