Photo: Miss Grand Cambodia Sotheary Bee (L), and Im Sokunthea, National Country Director of Miss
Grand Cambodia (R) at the press conference at Sokha Hotel on October 9.//Sotheary's FB page
Abrupt decision to remove Cambodia as co-host of Miss Grand International (MGI) 2024 and transfer all pageants to Bangkok on October 8 has sparked outrage and harsh criticism online from Cambodian netizens, saying it was unfair to Cambodia.
Cambodia had bought a license to be a co-host, with half of the activities scheduled from October 3-14 and the other half in Thailand from October 15 to 26.
Im Sokunthea, the National Country Director of Miss Grand Cambodia, held a press conference at Sokha Hotel on October 9th to express her concerns about Cambodia being sidelined during the event.
She revealed that the boat gala dinner in Phnom Penh on October 6 was not part of the original plan due to safety concerns, as it is the rainy season in Cambodia. According to Sokunthea, the dinner was organized at the last minute upon Nawat Itsaragrisil, president of MGI’s request.
She explained that Cambodia already prepared a more comfortable boat, but Nawat decided to rent a cheaper, old wooden boat for $500 instead. Sokhunthea also revealed that Nawat brought quail eggs and peanuts to the event, which some criticised, but later claimed Cambodia was unprofessional for the overall setup.
On October 7, MGI posted on its official Facebook page that “Cambodia will no longer serve as our host country due to the host organization’s inability to fulfil the requirements”.
Nawat, further criticized Cambodia's professionalism on his Instagram account, stating, “As a co-host of MGI 2024, Cambodia is unprofessional. I never met this kind of person, so we have to move to Thailand.”
Sokunthea expressed frustration over Cambodia’s exclusion, questioning why MGI didn't follow the agreed-upon agenda if they claimed to be professional. “If you were really professional, why didn’t you follow the agenda?, she asked.
Sokhunthea also stated that despite Cambodia putting in time, effort, and money to host the event, Nawat handled many decisions independently and blamed Cambodia for the issues.
Meanwhile Miss Grand Cambodia (MGC) issued an official statement expressing regret over losing its license with Miss Grand International, citing a lack of respect and cooperation from the organization.
Withdrawals from the Pageant
Following the tension, Miss Grand Cambodia, Sotheary Bee, announced her withdrawal from the competition, refusing to travel to Thailand with the other contestants.
Macarena Chamberlain, Miss Grand Costa Rica also withdrew on October 8, citing on her social media that she understood and appreciated MGI's good intentions to improve the experience of the candidates, but it has been too complicated for her to adapt to these situations and her well-being must always be a priority.
“My mental and physical health have been seriously affected in the last few hours due to the last-minute changes implemented by the organization,” Macarena said.
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