May 8, 2020 at 3:23 PM EDT – Updated May 8 at 6:20 PM
NEW YORK (Gray News) – The Miss America competition has been postponed until 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Miss America Organization made the announcement on Friday that the annual broadcast and competition, which was set to take place in December, will be postponed.
They stated it was a unanimous decision made by the Miss America Board of Directors for the “safety, health and welfare of the enormous community necessary to make the Miss America competition possible.”
“At this time, as an organization, our greatest concern is to make sure the thousands of people who are involved in or volunteer for our program are safe,” said Shantel Krebs, the board chair.
The organization advised the 51 qualifying competitions performed throughout the country to postpone as well. They said they will work with the state qualification organizations to amend the rules and eligibility.
The upcoming year is the Miss America Organization’s 100th anniversary. Krebs said that it is important that the organization follows the steps to “ensure our annual broadcast and the surrounding experiences reflect our time-honored tradition.”
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