A planned coronation night for the first Miss Universe UAE pageant has been cancelled. The event, which was supposed to be held on Sunday, was called off "due to time constraints", according to a statement posted by organisers on their Instagram story.
"Please watch this space for further news and updates," they said.
A new date has not been announced.
The names of 30 finalists were to be announced ahead of the historic coronation night, which was meant to name the first representative from the UAE at the global beauty pageant. Organisers have so far revealed the names of 25 contestants, which included three Emirati hopefuls, but have not posted any updates in two weeks.
Entry for the pageant was not limited to only UAE citizens. Josh Yugen, president and national director of Miss Universe UAE, told The National that the Miss Universe Organisation had modified the rules specially “to give everyone an opportunity”.
“So many of us call this country home and it will be such a matter of pride to be able to represent it on a global stage. It’s just logical,” he said.
The Miss Universe UAE website crashed hours after it went live, with a record 15,000 applicants, said Yugen, whose company Yugen Events has been chosen to select the first UAE representative for the global beauty contest.
On October 15, the applicants were shortlisted to 300 contestants at an audition in Dubai. Casting was split into two rounds, the first being a runway show where judges looked for the “X factor”. Contestants who impressed were then invited back for a second round and asked to answer a single question: “Why do you deserve to be a part of the history of the UAE?”
Entry for the pageant was open to all female residents between the ages of 18 and 28 who have lived in the UAE for more than three years.
Following the audition, 30 contestants were supposed to be named for the main event on Sunday. There, the first Miss Universe UAE was to be crowned, and they would then go on to represent the country at the global pageant, set to take place in December in the resort city of Eilat in Israel.
Scroll through the gallery below for behind-the-scenes photos of the Miss Universe UAE auditions:
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
The Porpoise
By Mark Haddon
(Penguin Random House)
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THE BIO
Bio Box
Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul
Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite place to travel: Lebanon
Favorite movie: Braveheart
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Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
