The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino to Host Miss Universe Pageant
By Space Coast Daily // April 22, 2021
The Miss Universe Pageant was forced to skip 2020 but is now back with a bang. The new venue is the awesome guitar-shaped Hard Rock Hotel in Hollywood. The show promises to be exciting and innovative, without sacrificing the COVID protocols required.
The countdown has begun and D-Day is May 16.
The Miss Universe Pageant 2021
There has been a lot of buzz in the media regarding the announcement from the Miss Universe Pageant. The organizers have chosen Hollywood in Florida for the 69th edition of the event, which will be held at The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. Earlier reports had indicated that the world’s most prestigious pageant would be held in Miami.
Briefing the press, Miss Universe Organization president Paula Shugart said, “We have spent months planning and preparing safety precautions to develop this edition of Miss Universe …”. She was referring to the ongoing pandemic and the need and requirement of strictly following COVID-19 health protocols at the event.
Shugart promised that the pageant would be “memorable, special and totally innovative.” The incumbent titleholder Zozibini Tunzi will crown the new Miss Universe on Sunday, May 16. The competition will broadcast live around the world from 8 to 11 p.m. ET.
The Miss Universe is a three-hour event that will feature winners from various countries competing in multiple categories, including swimsuits, evening gowns, interviews and personal statements for the global title.
Tunzi, from South Africa, has become the longest-ever reigning Miss Universe. She was crowned on December 8, 2019, and because of the pandemic, the event was not held in the year 2020.
Speaking about her accidental 17-month term, Tunzi said, “While it was nothing like what I had imagined my year to be, this year has opened doors for me I could never have imagined. I am so grateful for the opportunity to connect virtually with people all over the world and elevate the causes I care most about.”
The show will air in over 160 countries and territories across the globe. In the United States, Telemundo will be the exclusive Spanish-language broadcast partner, with English-language plans to be released in the coming weeks. The audience list will have to be pruned and more information regarding tickets will be available shortly. Additionally, all press opportunities for the competition will be virtual.
The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
The first twenty final events of the Miss Universe Pageant were held in Long Beach California and Miami Beach Florida. Thereafter the venue changed every year, but the upcoming contest will be the first to be held at a casino resort. The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino has all the facilities required to host a pageant as grand as this but is famous for its landmark guitar-shaped hotel.
The Hard Rock Miss Universe Pageant will be different from the past only because of the precautions needed due to the pandemic. The casino resort already has in place a system known as Safe + Sound protocols.
In addition, there is the template created and successfully implemented during the 2020 Miss USA Competition in Memphis in November last year. These policies included mask usage, social distancing, quarantining upon arrival and rigorous testing, as well as a pseudo-bubble with others following the same restrictions.
The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino is an excellent location for the all-around entertainment event. Not only are the accommodations spectacular and the grounds exquisite, but the non-stop action of the gambling venue also provides an amazing vibe.
Guests can try their hands at slot machines, poker tables and blackjack tables. For visitors who might be a bit rusty on the rules of their favorite games could try brushing up on the rules at the popular online casino guide, AustraliaCasinoClub.com.
Keith Sheldon, President of Entertainment for Hard Rock International and Seminole Gaming said that they were thrilled to partner with The Miss Universe Organization in putting on an innovative event under unique circumstances.
He said, “While safety will be at the forefront, we also look forward to showcasing the Hard Rock brand and all that our flagship Guitar Hotel property has to offer to audiences around the globe.”
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Partnership
Last month Hard Rock entered into a partnership with another iconic brand – Sports Illustrated Swimsuit. Hard Rock’s resort properties across the United States will serve as backdrops for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit’s globally recognized magazine issue and digital media platform.
Apart from the iconic Seminole Guitar Hotel in Hollywood, Florida, the exciting roster of locations includes Atlantic City, Tampa and Sacramento. The project has already taken off in March to celebrate International Women’s Month and will continue through the launch of this year’s Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, which hits stands on July 20.
The alliance between entertainment and realty will allow Sports Illustrated Swimsuit to create “compelling content around each property and to showcase its new 360-degree lifestyle approach established during these unprecedented times” according to the Hard Rock press release.
The content will be broadcast live on both brands’ channels and will take audiences through an exclusive tour of all that Hard Rock has to offer, from immersive spa experiences to blackjack tournaments, to cooking lessons from top chefs, all viewed through the lens of Sports Illustrated team of remarkable photographers.
Pageant Locations for the Future
So far, the Miss Universe pageants have been held at conventional locations where infrastructure is easily available. At some time, the organizers may seek more outlandish venues and there are precedents, though for fashion shows.
In 2007, the Italian designer brand Fendi turned the 2000-year-old Great Wall of China into the longest ramp walk ever. The show was visible from space, with the breath-taking display of strobe lights and gigantic Fendi logos projected onto the mountains. The elite audience of 500 VIPs enjoyed the rare spectacle.
The same year, Pierre Cardin held his fashion show on Marco Polo’s famous silk route. With the whistling sand-mountains of Dunhuang in the background, the catwalk was laid out along the dunes of the Mingsha Shan mountain desert. Cardin’s models paraded over two hundred mesmerizing silk creations in front of over 200,000 selected guests.
