The 60th edition of Miss International i.e., Miss International 2020 which was scheduled be held on 29th October 2020 at Pacifico Yokohama in Yokohama, Japan has been postponed. Miss International 2019 Sireethorn Leearamwat of Thailand will crown her successor at the end of the event.
But Miss International Organization has recently announced that the pageant has been suspended until the October 2021. The decision has been made due to the sudden increase in the number of covid19 affected patients across the globe. The official spokesperson for Miss International Akemi Schimomura, stated that all the national directors of Miss International pageants across the 69 countries have received the official news.
The news of pageant’s suspension means that Miss International 2019 Sireethorn Leearamwat will hold onto the crown more one more year than expected. Bint was crowned Miss International 2019 on 12th November 2019 at Tokyo Dome in Japan. She succeeded Mariem Velazco of Venezuela for the crown among the 82 delegates from across the world. She is the first representative from Thailand to the title. During the Miss International 2019 pageant, Bint said she was criticized when she won the Miss International Thailand title. Despite the criticism, she never gave up.
She said, "I dared to dream to become a beauty queen, even if there's nothing really related to my career as a pharmacist. I used critic as power to make myself improve to be the best representative and make my nation proud. So, the definition of 'cheer all women' for me is how to encourage, support, and inspire all women, all around the world to make their dreams come true and make a great thing to our world."
After winning the title, she expressed her happiness by posting a picture on her social media with a caption stating, “Being Miss International 2019 is the best thing in my life. However, love & friendship among 82 sisters around the world is more important. I’m so lucky to be with ALL of you on the stage.” Now, the news of pageant being held next year has given one more year to Bint to serve the duties as Miss International 2019 where she would not only serve as one of the beauty good will ambassador but also inspire aspiring beauty queens to be confident, strong, and more determined.
Miss International 1965 Ingrid Finger from Germany also held onto her crown for two year from 1965 to 1967 because the host city; the city of Long Beach had decided to discontinue the pageant permanently, due to its competition Miss Universe being popular in the country. However, the organization decided to move ahead with the pageant as it showed a massive increase in tourism and marketing. Finger was known to be the titleholder for 1 year and 8 months; the longest one till now. Finally, the pageant was held in 1967 where Mirta Teresita Massa from Argentina was crowned as the new queen. She was the second Latin American to win the beauty pageant after Maria Stella Márquez Zawadzky of Colombia did it in 1960.