The sparkling Red Sea has some competition this weekend.
On arrival, the venue — Eilat’s port — doesn’t seem nearly as glamorous as the women inside. But walk inside the 4,000-seat, specially built tented stage imported from Portugal, and the atmosphere quickly changes.
On the Friday before the Sunday night competition, the contestants were starting the day with dress rehearsals, first in their sequined opening outfits, then in their swimsuits and, finally, in their evening gowns. They dash between the figure-eight stage and the empty seats strewn with blankets to keep them warm in between rehearsals, many holding platform shoes in one hand and a mask in the other.
Later on in the evening, they’ll compete in the preliminary “National Costume” event, with costumes ranging from a shiny Canadian Mountie with black lace pants and knee-high boots (“she’ll be sure to keep us secure,” the host croons) to a lunar dragon, replete with two dragon heads.
But while the women try to capture the spotlight of the pageant’s stage during the preliminaries ahead of Sunday’s main event, politics and coronavirus are pushing them into a different kind of spotlight.
A Covid-era crown
Miss Universe contestants arrive at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport in Lod, east of Tel Aviv, on November 28, 2021. Credit: Ahmad Gharabli/AFP/Getty Images
One contestant, Miss France, Clemence Botino, tested positive for Covid-19 when…
Source : cnn
