In an unfortunate turn of events, Indonesia has withdrawn participation from the 70th edition of Miss Universe to be held on 12th December 2021 in Eilat, Israel. The edition has come under spotlight as many countries have shown hesitation in sending their representative to the host country due to the situation with Palestine and also due to the spread of a new variant of covid-19 across the globe.

Puteri Indonesia organization, responsible for sending country’s representative to Miss Universe, took to their official social media to share their regret of withdrawing participation from this year’s edition. They wrote, “The Puteri Indonesia Foundation wishes the 70th Miss Universe competition and all the delegates a great success. May the best candidate win the coveted title, and continue to inspire all women in their communities.”

“With a heavy heart, we would like to inform you that we will not be able to participate in the 70th Miss Universe pageant. Tight preparation time and local Covid-19 restrictions led to our decision of not sending our Indonesian representative for this year’s competition. The Puteri Indonesia Foundation is currently conducting selection process across several provinces in Indonesia. We look forward to participating again in the next year’s edition of the Miss Universe pageant”, they added.

In the 2020 edition, Ayu Maulida Miss Universe Indonesia 2020 represented her country at Miss Universe 2020 where she placed in the Top 21 with her stellar performance. The country is yet to pioneer its win at Miss Universe.