Posturing from hard-line Muslim groups aside, the 63rd edition of Miss World is ready for a show-stopping start on Sept
osturing from hard-line Muslim groups aside, the 63rd edition of Miss World is ready for a show-stopping start on Sept. 8, according to organizers.
'We want to show what we can do,' Nana Puspa Dewi ' a member of the pageant's organizing committee from private broadcaster RCTI ' said at a press conference in Cikini, Central Jakarta, on Thursday.
'We want to bring Indonesia's good name to the world ' other than showing our capability in doing such a big event.'
Around 120 beauty queens had already arrived on the Island of the Gods as of Wednesday, Nana said, with the remaining 40 ladies scheduled to arrive on Thursday.
'It's not an easy task,' Kanti M. Imansyah, another organizer, said about the years of work that will come to fruition in Bali and the Sentul International Convention Center, just outside Jakarta.
Neither was it an easy job to convince the Miss World organization to let Indonesia host the competition, according to Kanti, citing money and security as the big concerns.
However, in the end, when only Indonesia and the Philippines were in contention, the decisive factor was intangible.
'It was most of all about our culture,' Kanti said, when talking of the nation's 17,000 islands. 'Indonesia's culture is more varied than the Philippines.' Offering Bali as a venue was also key, she added.
Nana promises a spectacular show ' especially when compared to last year's state-run Miss World contest in Mongolia, which was run by a government that lacked RCTI's sense of spectacle, not to mention its production values.
On security, Kanti said organizers had already obtained all permits from local government and security officials, clearing the hurdle that forced Lady Gaga to cancel her concert in Jakarta in 2012.
'They [officials] knew what it meant to issue the permits,' Nana said, adding that she believed the security apparatus was ready to support the beauty contest '100 percent'.
On bikinis, Nana said that substituting a sexy swimsuit competition with a more modest presentation of women's beauty had been in the pipeline since plans were devised to hold Miss World in Indonesia.
But they still promise women clad in gorgeous clothing for spectators: The contestants will all don Balinese sarongs and will also appear in outfits from the best of Indonesia's fashion designers.
The women will also visit Central Java, to showcase more than just Bali, and to Jakarta, where Miss World 2013 is expected to receive her crown, banner and armful of roses on Sept. 28.
'It's a tough city,' Kanti said, 'but a central city. Not too many people know about Jakarta, they only know about Bali.'
Kanti said that organizers were eager to show the models and the world Jakarta's modernity ' from malls to skyscrapers ' and its traditional side, including the old town Kota Tua and traditional Betawi dancing.
In a first for the contest, Nana said, organizers expected the Miss World finale to be broadcast in almost 170 nations, up from about the previous 120 nations.
In another first, all proceeds from the Miss World charity dinner will be given to local Indonesia.
'Usually half is given to the community in the host country. We managed to convince the Miss World organization to donate everything to Indonesia,' Nana said.
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