I don't want to ruin any of the twists and turns, but the purpose of a system is what it does:
Miss Universe is a multi-million-dollar business which operates like a franchise - you need to buy a licence which enables you to use the brand and sell tickets for the event.
Those licences are expensive and in small countries it’s hard to find anyone willing to fund a national pageant - which is why Fiji hasn’t entered a contestant since 1981.
But this year, one organisation was willing to buy the licence: [a] property development firm
....
Apart from a voting scandal at the Miss America contest in 2022, recent controversies have tended to be in less developed parts of the world.
This is probably because they tend to be non-profit affairs in many Western countries . . . while pageants elsewhere have become more popular and more lucrative than ever.
“Historically, beauty pageants have been an amazing tool for social mobility for women,” . . . .
“Apart from the prestige and the glory, it gives you a platform to attract followers and sponsorships. When there’s money involved, the stakes are higher.”