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In a historic first, Saudi Arabia will enter the Miss Universe pageant this year, with model Rumy Alqahtani being its candidate for the 2024 international competition. Riyadh-born Rumy Alqahtani announced on her Instagram account that she will represent the kingdom in this global competition. The kingdom has granted more rights to its women in recent years, including lifting the ban on driving.
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The 27-year-old model, Alqahtani, has already competed in and won beauty pageants across the world, including most recently Miss and Mrs Global Asian in Malaysia, according to reports. She has already been crowned Miss Saudi Arabia, Miss Middle East (Saudi Arabia), Miss Arab World Peace 2021, and Miss Woman (Saudi Arabia).
She shared pictures of herself wearing a strapless sequined gown. Along with the photos, Alqahtani wrote in Arabic on Instagram, “I am honored to participate in the Miss Universe 2024 competition. This is the first participation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the Miss Universe competition.”
Saudi Arabia’s Miss Universe Debut
With this, Alqahtani will now become the kingdom’s first representative for Miss Universe, an international beauty pageant that has been running since 1952.
Saudi Arabia is relatively new to the world of fashion and modeling, with reforms by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, popularly known as MBS, bringing fashion shows and other forms of entertainment to the kingdom after years of tight social restrictions. Women are now permitted to drive, attend public sports events and concerts, and obtain a passport without the approval of a male guardian.
The beauty pageant organisers revealed last year that the upcoming edition of the competition would take place in Mexico.
