Miss Grand International chief says Phuket pageant will go ahead despite community committee objection
Miss Grand International president Nawat Itsaragrisil confirmed the pageant would go ahead in Phuket after a sign insultingly referred to the contest as a “three hooves” one, while a community committee claimed there was a consensus that the pageant should not be held.
On Friday, Nawat went live on Facebook to say that Miss Grand International 2021 will be held from mid-November to December in Old Phuket Town.
He called out the Phuket governor, the tourism sector and the Phuket Chamber of Commerce for not deciding to make special buses available to transport the contestants. He said the contestants were promoting Phuket tourism but have to rent buses by themselves.
Nawat also said the pageant location was changed because the previous location was “owned by a ‘salim’” (a reportedly ultraconservative/ultraroyalist insult).
A few days later Somyot Pathan, a vice president of the Old Phuket Town community, revealed that the community tourism committee denied Miss Grand International the right to carry out any pageant activities there. He added the decision did not stem from a conflict but from a consensus.
On Wednesday, Nawat went on Facebook again to refer to the sign that said “We Phuket people do not want the three hooves beauty pageant”.
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He said he had never shown the three-finger salute or taken part in any protest, and challenged anyone to produce any pictures to this effect as evidence before terming the pageant the “three hooves” beauty pageant.
Nawat added that he wanted Miss Grand International to be called the pageant for democracy. He said he had already officially announced this and put a hashtag on every post.
He wanted the "insulting" sign to be changed or the words “three hooves” to be replaced by “democracy”.