The Mrs. World Competition in St. Petersburg ended with an act of protest by its participants. When the crown was taken away from the declared winner, Andrea Bermudez Romero of Costa Rica, and given instead to Russian competitor Sofia Arzhakovskaya, the majority of the show's participants tore of their ribbons, threw them on the floor and left the stage at the Oktyabrsky Concert Hall.
Problems plagued the competition from the beginning. First 20 of the 54 participants were unable to receive Russian visas. Then, when the participants were to meet St. Petersburg Governor Valentina Matvienko, Deputy City Governor Sergey Tarasov showed up in her place. The ladies gave him gifts of face cream and household goods. The Misses World crown and 49 pieces of jewelry associated with the competition were seized by customs at Pulkovo Airport. The Russian Customs Service claims that the competition's organizing committee failed to fill out the necessary forms for the importation of the items.
The situation deteriorated at the competition itself, which was broadcast in 70 countries around the world. The decoration was economical and the audience was sparse, in spite of the fact that tickets for the event were free. The American MC was initially not provided with an interpreter, and when an interpreter was found for him, the audience took umbrage at me of his jokes and began to walk out.
Almost all observers and participants questioned expected the 18-year-old Russian competitor to win, in spite of an unwritten rule that the participant from the host country won't be crowned. Arzhakovskaya's privileged position was clear. She had two bodyguards and a personal makeup artist and her husband, businessman and former candidate for president of Bashkortostan Sergey Veremeenko, hovered near her. When Bermudez Romero was declared the winner of the competition and crowned with the $29,000 replacement crown, competition organizer David Marmell burst onto the stage and demanded that the transmission be temporarily interrupted. Then the order was given on the public address system “Guards, close the auditorium exits. There has been a mistake. The finale will be reshot. The winner is Russia.”
The crowning of Arzhakovskaya was filmed with only about ten competitors on the stage and catcalls from the audience.
TKPN
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