Miss Universe President Paula Shugart says that since 15 years it has been her dream to bring the pageant to Philippines. This is the third time that the pageant is happening in Philippines, and Paula is excited about it. Paula’s special connection with the place is also the reason why she is excited about the pageant.

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Paula’s late father was a US Navy pilot who was stationed in Subic during the Vietnam War. In an exclusive interview with The STAR, Paula said, “As a child growing up, I remember always being so afraid he was at war in Vietnam. But I always knew he was safe when he called from the Philippines.” Paula also recalled that her father used to tell her “ Filipinos are the most genuinely kind people he’d ever met… good people, hard working. When I came here, I realized that the Philippines has the hospitality of Asia combined with the passion of the Latin people. It’s the perfect combination. You see it in the fanbase. There’s such a pure national pride that you won’t see anywhere else in the world.”

Paula also revealed that initially she wanted the Miss Universe pageant to happen in Philippines in 2014 itself, for it would have been 40 years after the pageant was last held in Manila at the Folk Arts Theater. “I’m a strong believer of destiny and I really thought at one point, because the pageant happened here in 1974 and actually my father was here around that time, I was really thinking that 2014, we would have to bring it here. We were working on it, and just for whatever reason it didn’t happen. Whenever I go to the pageant, wherever it is held, there’s just so many amazing Filipino fans. So, when it didn’t happen in 2014, I was incredibly disappointed. But now I realized, it was waiting for Pia to win. It taught me that patience is really, really important,” said Paula.

Praising Pia, Paula added, “Everything I said about the Filipino people is perfectly embodied in Pia. She’s genuine, she’s real, she’s kind, she’s not perfect (laughs). The year has gone by so quickly and I’m glad we had the extra month with her.”

Paula also revealed during the interview that this year the pageant fans will witness lots of former Miss Universe winners from all over, among the guests and judges. She also hinted that she is open to the idea of having an all-former Miss Universe judging panel. Talking about the previous year finale gaffe by Steve Harvey, Paula said that it was a mistake that will never be repeated again. She assured that the announcement is going to be really slow this time to avoid any further controversy.

Paula Shugart also talked about Pia’s ending reign and said, “I don’t see Pia giving up the crown and walking away from us. I think our relationship is continuing.”

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