Brian Jeffrey
The Miss Grand International 2024 pageant has encountered a significant setback as of October 6, with Cambodia withdrawing as the host country.
A disagreement between the Miss Grand International (MGI) organization and Miss Grand Cambodia culminated in statements from both entities, shocking fans with the abrupt end to their partnership, just as the event was set to unfold in Cambodia.
In an official announcement, Miss Grand Cambodia expressed regret over the situation, stating, “We can no longer maintain our partnership with Miss Grand International due to a lack of respect and collaboration with Cambodia as the host country.”
In response, Miss Grand International stated, “It is unfortunate to announce that Cambodia will not host Miss Grand International 2024, as the local organizers failed to meet our service standards.”
Nevertheless, MGI confirmed that the competition would continue as planned, with participants relocating to Thailand starting October 7.
After the announcement, Miss Grand Cambodia conducted a livestream to clarify the situation. They outlined that they had carefully arranged venues and schedules for the pageant.
However, MGI’s President, Nawat Itsaragrisil, continually changed requirements based on his individual preferences, which forced the Cambodian team to make last-minute adjustments.
A significant event involved a boat tour that was not part of the initial plans. Even though the Cambodian team endeavored to incorporate the request, rain ultimately prevented the activity, leading to the packing up of equipment for safety reasons.
Upon arriving and seeing that preparations were not complete, Nawat reportedly became very upset. The Cambodian team’s explanations regarding the weather were not well received.
This situation has garnered attention from fans who are closely monitoring the unraveling partnership.
The ongoing Miss Grand International 2024 is the 12th edition of the pageant, with the finale scheduled for October 25, 2024. A total of 75 contestants from different countries are participating in this year’s event.
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Vo Le Que Anh, Miss Grand Vietnam 2024, is representing Vietnam at the pageant. Born in 2001 in Quang Nam, she achieved recognition as a runner-up in the Hue University pageant in 2020, made it to the top 40 in Miss Vietnam 2020, and claimed the title of 1st runner-up at Miss Tourism Da Nang 2022.
Que Anh recently earned her degree in Korean Language and Culture from Hue University and obtained a B2 – CEFR Korean language certification. In 2023, she also engaged in cultural exchange programs with the Korean Cultural Research Institute and Hue City.
The current Miss Grand International, Luciana Fuster from Peru, will crown her successor at the competition’s grand finale.
This year’s event is notable for the first participation of Greenland and the return of several nations, including Cameroon and Côte d’Ivoire (previously last seen in 2014), along with countries like New Zealand, Norway, Tanzania (2018), Macau (2019), Armenia (2021), and Bangladesh, China, Curaçao, Pakistan, and Portugal (2022).
