A few weeks ago, the only international boycott debate seemed to be whether South African beauty queen Lalela Mswane should go to Eilat, Israel, next month to compete in the Miss Universe pageant. This competition is the younger of the two global beauty contests — the other being Miss World, which is scheduled to take place in Puerto Rico.
Miss South Africa, 24-year old Lalela Mswane, a University of Pretoria law graduate, model, and daughter of a diplomat, was set to go to Israel with young women from around the world to appear before a global television audience of up to half a billion people, as they compete for the tiara and the goodies that come along with the title. But with South African participation in a pageant in Israel, A4P reckoned it could further mobilise support for its ongoing campaign to isolate Israel.
In thinking about all this, it needs to be remembered beauty pageants are profit-making private enterprises, with their revenues derived from television broadcast fees and sponsorship payments in exchange for product placement or exposure. They are certainly not international ventures like humanitarian aid, just as they certainly are not government programmes either. Up to a point, any publicity feeds interest in their product.
Despite this possibility, an international outcry over Peng’s circumstances, including strong statements from a growing array of tennis stars, has been coalescing, and there are even discussions about divorcing professional tennis from its Chinese cash flow.argued in an editorial: “The professional tennis world has reacted with admirable and unequivocal ferocity. Steve Simon, the executive director of the W.T.A., demanded an investigation into Ms. Peng’s allegations.
There are now also video clips and photos from Chinese official sources showing her at dinner with several other people, and at home with a pet and a large collection of fluffy stuffed animals. In all this, she seems to be wearing a tight smile that might be more in keeping with a hostage video made to prove the hostage was still alive.
But now there is the possibility of some kind of ugly multinational snub — also broadcast live to the world — by the absence of presidents, prime ministers and miscellaneous royalty, and with only lower-ranking individuals such as resident diplomats as the honorary leaders of various teams in attendance.
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