By Andrew Adamides
CYPRUS is still the front runner to host the 2000 Miss Universe pageant, with just the venue and other details to be decided on.
After several meetings over the past week, Commerce, Industry and Tourism Minister Nicos Rolandis told the Sunday Mail yesterday that final decisions on the contest would be taken by February 15.
The biggest problem, he said, was where to hold the event, as any venue has to comply with certain size regulations imposed by the contest’s joint organisers, the American CBS Network and the Donald Trump Corporation.
At present, the most likely venue is the Eleftheria Stadium in Nicosia, even though this is one metre below the minimum interior height.
Aeroplane hangars, a possible alterative, have been ruled out, as the hangar would be needed for 20 days, and Larnaca Airport cannot spare any of its hangars for more than three.
The only other alternative would be the new GSP stadium, which is still under construction. But this, Rolandis says, would only be viable if a cost- effective way could be found to put a temporary roof on the stadium, as the pageant has to be held under cover.
So that leaves Eleftheria; but apart from the interior height quibble, the stadium holds no more than four to five thousand people, while such a contest ideally needs capacity of at least eight to 10 thousand.
The other problem is over the timing of the contest, which would
have to be held at 4am if it were to be broadcast live at 9pm Eastern Time in the United States, as demanded by the sponsors. A compromise of 2am Cyprus time is, however, thought to be on the cards.
Once these glitches are sorted out, it remains for the Council of Ministers to approve the candidacy.
Clinching the deal would be a major coup for Cyprus, as it would boost its image abroad, especially in the all-important American market, which the island is currently trying to tap for more tourists.
Rolandis says the cost of staging Miss Universe would be around four to five million dollars, but that the benefits will far outweigh this in terms of both cash and publicity.
To start with, Cyprus will own TV rights to the pageant, valued at between $3 and $5 million, and huge sums of money will be brought into the country by the influx of people during the contest.
Those involved in the organising and staging, will, along with contestants, their families and chaperones, number at least 500. The same number of journalists, and between 200 and 300 TV companies will also be expected in to cover the event, which attracts a worldwide TV audience of around 2.2 billion.
Miss Universe is the third biggest TV event on the face of the globe, behind the Olympics and the World Cup.
Final meetings on the matter are to be held in the last 10 days of the month. Cyprus isn’t the only country in the running, but has right of first refusal, having refused an offer to host the 1999 event, preferring instead to apply for the millennium pageant.
The contest is held every year at the end of May. If it goes ahead, Rolandis says it will be one of Cyprus’ main millennium events.
The organisers apparently feel that Cyprus would be particularly apt for the millennium pageant: “They already feel that the island of Aphrodite would be a good place for the competition in such a landmark year,” said Rolandis.
