THE Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) could be taking over the Inaugural Miss Heritage World pageant that failed to take off on Saturday.
Winstone Antonio,Own Correspondent
Although Sugar Chagonda ZTA head of public relations and corporate communications said his organisation is not involved in the pageant, sources close to the goings confirmed.
On Saturday, the organisers of the event found themselves in a quandary resulting initially in changing venues from the Harare International Conference Centre (HICC) to Wild Geese Lodge in Pomona.
The event was later cancelled leaving many people stranded at the HICC.
At a press conference at Stephen Margolis Resort last week, Tare Munzara chairman of the pageant blamed the government for the lack of support. He said government let his organisation down.
“Miss Heritage World is an international pageant, which the government must have supported to the fullest, but they have abandoned us and let the nation down in our quest to change the face of our local beauty pageants,” Munzara said.
“With the nature of the pageant, a brand recognised the world over we anticipated that the government and relevant authorities could have done better, but we faced some serious challenges beyond our control.”
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Only 20 contestants are taking part after some of the competitors failed to acquire visas through the on-line process which proved to be complicated and time-consuming, while some pulled out due to financial constraints.
Some of the countries being represented at the pageant include Russia, India, Democratic Republic of Congo, Italy, Sierra Leone, Estonia, Bahamas, Zambia, Lesotho, Guinea and Namibia, among others.
Munzara said the pageant will now be held on Friday at a venue to be announced.
He said ticket holders should hold on to their tickets for use on the day of the event.