Photo from X account @rumy_alqahtani, during her announcement to participate in Miss Universe 2024.
"No selection process was carried out in Saudi Arabia, and these allegations are false and confusing." In a statement issued on April 1, the Miss Universe pageant organization formally denied the kingdom's candidacy, after Saudi model and influencer Rumy al-Qahtani presented herself at the end of March as the first candidate in the country's history. The 27-year-old posted a photo of herself in a white strapless gown with a "Miss Universe – Saudi Arabia" sash, posing next to the green Saudi flag on her Instagram account, in front of more than a million followers.
In her biography on this social network, she also announces that she was the first "Miss Saudi Arabia," a title further reported by the media outlet Harper's Bazaar Arabia. In reality, beauty contests do not exist in the kingdom, and in the past, competitions had been set up for women to elect "Miss Ethics" or "Miss Morals."
In Riyadh, the official authorities have not reacted publicly on this matter, while at the time of going to press, Rumy al-Qahtani had not yet responded to L'Orient-Le Jour's requests for comment. However, several media outlets, including a website linked to the Saudi channel al-Arabiya English, had reported on this candidacy, which turned out to be mainly a publicity stunt. Without having been able to contact the relevant authorities, L'Orient-Le Jour published an article on March 28 entitled "Rumy al-Qahtani, Saudi Arabia's first Miss Universe candidate."
This article originally appeared in French in L'Orient-Le Jour.